Lamola calls for more countries to ‘urgently' recognise Palestinian statehood at UN conference
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has urged more countries to 'urgently' recognise a Palestinian state at a United Nations (UN) conference this week that was devoted to a two-state solution.
Speaking at the high-level conference in New York on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, Lamola said the recognition of Palestinian statehood was 'fundamental to restoring the credibility of the two-state solution'.
'Global attention is on this conference. There is an expectation that we will deliver an effective response to the destruction of an entire population and a peaceful path for preserving the prospect of a viable Palestinian state existing side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security. This expectation is not misplaced, and it could not be higher.
'Eighty years since the founding of the UN, this is a matter that has plagued our collective conscience. The solution lies with a tangible recommitment from all of us to the values that bind us,' said Lamola.
South Africa is anti-war and prefers dialogue over violence. Global attention is on this Conference. There is an expectation that we will deliver an effective response to the destruction of an entire population and a peaceful path for preserving the prospect of a viable… pic.twitter.com/ZZsCjc3GhC
— Minister: International Relations and Cooperation (@RonaldLamola) July 29, 2025
Lamola was among dozens of high-level representatives who gathered at the UN this week to promote a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The UN General Assembly decided in September last year that such a conference would be held in 2025, after it adopted a resolution related to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran. Both Israel and the US have boycotted the three-day meeting, chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
In a statement issued on Monday, the US State Department called the conference a 'publicity stunt' that 'will prolong the war'.
The high-level meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, as starvation grips the region as a result of Israel's restrictions on aid.
On Tuesday, the leading international authority on hunger crises said that the 'worst-case scenario of famine' was unfolding in Gaza, and called for an urgent ceasefire to 'alleviate the catastrophic suffering of people' in the region.
'Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths. The latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City,' read the alert from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
🚨 #GazaStrip Alert
The worst-case scenario of #Famine is rapidly unfolding in the #GazaStrip amid relentless conflict, displacements, and extremely limited humanitarian access.
📄 Read more: https://t.co/mPlpJRtLda @TheIPCinfo #FoodInsecurity #Malnutrition pic.twitter.com/B0b3d9Ramd
— The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (@theIPCinfo) July 29, 2025
'This conference takes place at a time when we are witnessing the destruction of Gaza and its people in real time, in a brazen and wanton act of genocide in full view of the world,' said Lamola.
'South Africa continues to condemn the horrific events of 7 October 2023 where innocent Israeli citizens were killed. Despite this challenging context, in which the international legal and multilateral system has been paralysed and turned into a blunt tool, the focus today on a real path to lasting peace must prevail.
'The might is right doctrine can no longer be justified. It has led to perpetual insecurity and it justifies an attempt to eradicate the Palestinian people through killing and starvation,' he said.
Lamola added that South Africa hoped the conference would 'plot a real path forward, based on concrete actions, for the creation of a Palestinian state existing peacefully and side by side with the state of Israel, along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital'.
Recognition of a Palestinian state
The UN conference, which began on Monday, came days after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September.
Macron made the announcement in a surprise statement on X, following months of hints and hesitations over potential French recognition of a Palestinian state, according to a report from The New York Times.
Speaking to delegates in New York, Lamola welcomed France's intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as 'an important step towards achieving a two-state solution'.
At the opening of the talks on Monday, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France was ready to fully recognise the state of Palestine at a time when the two-state solution is 'more threatened than ever'.
'Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative,' he said. According to a report from The Guardian, Barrot said that the UN conference would also serve as a platform for other European countries to recognise Palestinian statehood.
On Tuesday afternoon, the UK followed France, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing that Britain would recognise the state of Palestine in September if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas.
My statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and our plan for peace including the recognition of a Palestinian State. pic.twitter.com/aMUCNwJb9z
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 29, 2025
Speaking at the UN on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK intended to recognise the state of Palestine when the UN General Assembly gathered in September.
'We will do this unless the Israeli government acts to end the appalling situation in Gaza, ends its military campaign and commits to a long-term sustainable peace based on a two-state solution,' he said. DM
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