Dozens of ministers have gathered at a United Nations conference to urge the world to work towards a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. However, the United States and Israel have boycotted the event, with the US State Department calling it a “publicity stunt” that would make finding peace harder.
Addressing the attendees, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the need for a decisive turning point in the conflict. “We must ensure that it does not become another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric,” he said. “It can and must serve as a decisive turning point – one that catalyses irreversible progress towards ending the occupation and realising our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot echoed Guterres’ sentiments, stressing the importance of working towards a two-state solution. “We must work on the ways and means to go from the end of the war in Gaza to the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at a time when this war is jeopardising the stability and security of the entire region,” he said. “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.”
The conference comes as Israel’s war on Gaza continues, with over 59,000 Palestinians killed since the conflict began in October 2023. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa called on all countries to “recognise the state of Palestine without delay.” “All states have a responsibility to act now,” he said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud urged all countries to support the conference goal of a roadmap laying out the parameters to a Palestinian state while ensuring Israel’s security. He also called for US President Donald Trump’s involvement in resolving the ongoing conflict. “I’m firmly in the belief that the US engagement, especially the engagement of President Trump, can be a catalyst for an end to the immediate crisis in Gaza and potentially a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the long term,” he said.
The UN has long endorsed a vision of two states side by side within secure and recognised borders. Palestinians want a state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighbouring Arab states.
The conference is a significant step towards finding a solution to the conflict, but the absence of the US and Israel raises concerns about the feasibility of achieving a lasting peace. As Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, noted, “The Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians, and others are all incapable of affecting the situation. They are weak and cannot do anything themselves about what is going on in Gaza”.