U.N. conference backs two-state solution, calls on Israel to commit to a Palestinian state
The 'New York Declaration' sets out a phased plan to end the nearly eight-decade conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza. The plan would culminate with an independent, demilitarized Palestine living side by side peacefully with Israel, and the nation's eventual integration into the wider Mideast region.
The two-day meeting, which ends today, is taking place amid the latest reports that starvation and famine are taking place in Gaza, and growing global outrage at Palestinians not getting food due to Israeli policies and practices — which Israel denies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution and has rejected the meeting on both nationalistic and security grounds. Its close ally, the United States, is also boycotting, calling the meeting 'unproductive and ill-timed.'
The conference, which was postponed from June and downgraded from world leaders to ministers, for the first time established eight high-level working groups to examine and make proposals on wide-ranging topics related to a two-state solution.
The declaration's plan says conference co-chairs France and Saudi Arabia, the European Union and Arab League, and 15 countries that led the working groups agreed 'to take collective action to end the war in Gaza.'
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan urged the rest of the 193 U.N. member nations 'to support this document' before the start of the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly in mid-September.
The declaration condemns 'the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians' in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It marks a first condemnation by Arab nations of Hamas, whose attacks killed about 1,200, mainly Israeli civilians, and whose militants took about 250 people hostage. Some 50 are still being held.
The declaration condemns Israeli attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and its 'siege and starvation, which have produced a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.' Israel's ongoing offensive against Hamas has killed over 60,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The conference plan envisions the Palestinian Authority governing and controlling all Palestinian territory, with a transitional administrative committee immediately established under its umbrella after a ceasefire in Gaza.
It also supports deployment of 'a temporary international stabilization mission' operating under U.N. auspices to protect Palestinian civilians, support the transfer of security to the Palestinian Authority and provide security guarantees for Palestine and Israel — 'including monitoring of the ceasefire and of a future peace agreement.'
The declaration calls for countries to recognize the state of Palestine, calling this 'an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution.' Without naming Israel but clearly referring to it, the document says 'illegal unilateral actions are posing an existential threat to the realization of the independent state of Palestine.'
French President Emmanuel Macron announced ahead of the meeting that his country will recognize the state of Palestine at the General Assembly's meeting of world leaders in late September. The French Foreign Ministry today pushed back on Israeli claims that recognition of Palestine would 'reward' Hamas, saying that 'on the contrary, it has contributed to isolating Hamas.'
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced todaythat Britain would recognize the state of Palestine ahead of September's high-level meeting, but would refrain if Israel agrees to a ceasefire and long-term peace process in the next eight weeks. The countries are now the biggest Western powers and the only two members of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to make such a pledge.
Lederer and Amiri write for the Associated Press.
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Germany, a major European power and strong ally of Israel, remains a holdout. Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his country's position that recognition of a Palestinian state 'can be one of the last steps on the road to realizing a two-state solution,' but that Berlin has no plans for recognition 'in the short term.' Real clout rests with the U.S., and Starmer's cautious approach may be designed to persuade President Donald Trump to take a tougher line with his ally Netanyahu. The prospects are uncertain, to say the least. Asked about Britain's stance on Tuesday, Trump said: 'We have no view on that.' Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said there is 'no doubt' that a global majority supports Palestinian statehood, but that's not enough to make it a reality. 'British recognition or French recognition doesn't make it internationally recognized,' he said. 'You need the (U.N.) Security Council — and that is not going to happen because of a certain person in the White House.' ___ Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this story.
