UN to hold conference on two-state solution to Middle East conflict in June
According to a UN spokesperson, an international conference aimed at reviving the notion of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem will be held at the UN headquarters in New York from June 17 to 20. France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair the summit, which is based on a resolution that the UN General Assembly adopted in December. UN spokesperson Sharon Birch confirmed the dates of this meeting.
UN efforts to implement the two-state solution for Palestine
The United Nations has long favoured the two-state solution as the main mechanism for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Israel and an independent Palestinian state coexisting in secure and accepted borders.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly urged “irreversible action” towards the two-state solution, warning that it is “near a point of no return” because of continued violence, settlement growth, and the Gaza humanitarian crisis.
He has called on member states to break past statements and transition towards concrete actions, highlighting the requirements of Israeli security and Palestinian self-governance. The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East, Sigrid Kaag, has also warned that the two-state solution window is rapidly closing, pointing to the effects of conflict, Israeli military action, and settlement growth as major hindrances.
The State of Palestine, which has observer status at the UN but is not a full member since the Security Council has not voted to admit it, is recognised by over 150 nations. Other European states, notably France, have not recognised a Palestinian state, but Ireland, Norway, and Spain did so in May 2024.
Will France recognise Palestine during this summit?
According to a diplomat familiar with the conference’s planning in Paris, it should open the door for other nations to recognise a fully fledged Palestinian state. France might recognise a Palestinian state in June, according to President Emmanuel Macron’s April statement. “But also a recognition of Israel from states that currently do not” is what Macron stated when he stated that he wanted to use the New York conference to promote recognition of the State of Palestine.
Under the Abraham Accords, which were reached in 2020 during the first term of US President Donald Trump, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco mended their relations with Israel. However, a number of Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Israel’s neighbours Syria and Lebanon, have not yet ratified the deal.
Saudi Arabia had previously opposed normalising relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, even prior to the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
