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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question
Days before the July 28-30 conference on fostering Israeli and Palestinian states living peacefully side-by-side to be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize the State of Palestine in September. His declaration "will breathe new life into a conference that seemed destined to irrelevance," said Richard Gowan, an analyst at International Crisis Group. "Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognize Palestine." According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states -- including France -- now recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states -- one Jewish and the other Arab. The following year, the State of Israel was proclaimed, and for several decades, the vast majority of UN member states have supported the idea of a two-state solution: Israeli and Palestinian, living side-by-side peacefully and securely. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and senior Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could be geographically impossible. The war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. The New York conference is a response to the crisis, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world expected to attend. 'No alternative' The meeting comes as a two-state solution is "more threatened than it has ever been (but) even more necessary than before, because we see very clearly that there is no alternative," said a French diplomatic source. Beyond facilitating conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will have three other focuses -- reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. The diplomatic source warned that no announcement of new normalization deals was expected next week. Ahead of the conference, which was delayed from June, Britain said it would not recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally and would wait for "a wider plan" for peace in the region. Macron has also not yet persuaded Germany to follow suit and recognize a Palestinian state in the short term. The conference "offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples," said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for "courage" from participants. Israel and the United States will not take part in the meeting. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon "has announced that Israel will not be taking part in this conference, which doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages," according to embassy spokesman Jonathan Harounoff. As international pressure continues to mount on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe in the ravaged coastal territory is expected to dominate speeches by representatives of more than 100 countries as they take to the podium from Monday to Wednesday.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand after deadly clashes
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. "Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire -- unconditionally -- and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," said Phnom Penh's UN ambassador Chhea Keo following a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian -- a 70-year-old man -- had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities -- 14 civilians and a soldier -- with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. Fighting resumed in three areas around 4 am on Friday (2100 GMT Thursday), the Thai army said, with Cambodian forces firing heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems, and Thai troops responding "with appropriate supporting fire." Thai Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told AFP that fighting had begun to ease off by Friday afternoon, however, adding that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia. "We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels, bilaterally, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do that. But so far we have not had any response," Nikorndej told AFP, speaking before the UN meeting had been held. Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members. Earlier, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai had warned that if the situation escalated, "it could develop into war." "For now, it remains limited to clashes," he told reporters in Bangkok. Ongoing dispute Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. At the UN, Cambodia's envoy questioned Thailand's assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbor, had initiated the conflict. "(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well," said Chhea Keo. None of the other attendees of the UNSC meeting spoke to reporters. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbors -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometer (500-mile) border. Dozens of kilometers in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash. 'We are scared' Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples. Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border. In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border, AFP journalists saw families speeding away in vehicles with their children and belongings as gunfire erupted. "I live very close to the border. We are scared," Pro Bak, 41, told AFP.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand: envoy to UN
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. "Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire -- unconditionally -- and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," said Cambodia's ambassador Chhea Keo following a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand. The envoy questioned how Thailand, a regional military heavyweight, could accuse Cambodia, its smaller neighbor, of attacking it. "(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well," said Chhea Keo. None of the other attendees spoke to reporters. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities -- 14 civilians and a soldier -- with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbors -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometer (500-mile) border.
