As High-Level Conference on Two-State Solution Resumes, Speakers Call for Palestinian State – Press Release

 

To learn more about the High-level international conference, please visit the dedicated page

28 July 2025

High-Level International Conference on Two-State Solution,
1st Meeting (resumed) (PM)

Meeting under the shadow of the ongoing war in Gaza and escalating tensions across the Middle East, foreign ministers and other high-level officials gathered at the United Nations today to push for renewed global action to advance the implementation of UN resolutions pertaining to the question of Palestine and the two-State solution.

That gathering, titled the “High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution”, was originally slated to begin on 17 June.  However, while it opened its first plenary meeting on that date, it was quickly suspended due to circumstances in the region.  Held pursuant to General Assembly resolution 79/81, the Conference will now take place from 28 to 30 July, and aims to revive a credible political process and outline concrete steps toward Palestinian Statehood based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Addressing those present, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Member States to “prove that this effort is something different”.  To those resisting a two-State solution, he asked:  “What is the alternative?  A one-State reality where Palestinians are denied equal rights, and forced to live under perpetual occupation and inequality?  A one-State reality where Palestinians are expelled from their land?”  He rejected such a scenario: “That is not peace.  That is not justice.  That is not in accordance with international law.  And that is not acceptable.”

Rather, he urged the international community to not only keep the two-State solution alive, but to take “urgent, concrete, irreversible steps” to make it real. Those steps must include ending the violence, halting annexation and settlement expansion, rejecting forced displacement and ethnic cleansing, ensuring accountability for atrocity crimes, restoring credible political dialogue and reaffirming the equal rights and dignity of both peoples.  “Let us reject the false choice between Palestinian statehood and Israeli security,” he urged.

“We have been waiting for long years for a genuine international intervention,” said Mohammed Mustafa, Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, adding:  “We have lost what we have lost, and we have suffered immensely.”  He therefore urged the Conference to become a “turning point” where words translate into “immediate and unprecedented practical steps” to halt the genocide, end the Israeli occupation and allow an independent Palestinian State to take shape on the basis of a two-State solution.

Lamenting the death, destruction and disregard for Palestinian lives, he urged the international community to reject any justification for targeting civilians or blocking aid.  “This war of extermination must stop immediately,” he underscored, demanding the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and calling on the global community to act to end the aggression, starvation and displacement.  “Palestinians are human beings,” he stressed.

He also affirmed Palestine’s readiness to invite a temporary Arab and international force, authorized by the Security Council, to protect civilians, ensure the ceasefire and support — not replace — the Palestinian Government’s security services.  “The Palestinian people have the right to live in freedom and dignity in their homeland,” he underscored, noting the 149 countries who recognize the State of Palestine and urging others that support the two-State solution to do the same.

France Will Recognize Palestinian State, Others Highlight Conference’s Importance

In that vein, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, said at the meeting’s outset:  “There is nothing more precious for people than the dignity to be free.”  He recalled France’s support for Israel as it joined the community of nations and affirmed that Palestinians deserve the same right to a homeland.  “At a time where the two-State solution is more threatened than ever, France is ready to fully recognize the State of Palestine,” he declared, pledging to do so in September when world leaders meet for the General Assembly’s eightieth session.

Faisal bin Farhan al Saud, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia — who co-chaired the meeting along with his French counterpart — said that the suffering of thousands of civilians in Gaza under bombardment, starvation and displacement continues, while Israeli settlements expand in Jerusalem and the West Bank to alter the region’s demographic nature.  “Peace and security do not take place through deprivation of rights or force,” he emphasized, highlighting Riyadh’s work with the Palestinian Authority to build capacity and achieve digital transformation.  For its part, the Conference is “an opportune moment to move forward with the peace process”, he said.

“We are at a critical moment in the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” observed Philémon Yang (Cameroon), President of the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session.  The war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks against Israel, has inflicted “horrifying” levels of death, destruction, deprivation and displacement on Palestinian civilians, and “we cannot go on like this”, he stressed.  Time and again, the General Assembly and the Security Council have reiterated their support for a vision of two States, within secure and recognized borders, based on the 1967 lines, he said, stating:  “It is our collective responsibility to demand the implementation of these resolutions.”

“This Conference is a glimmer of hope,” said Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, noting that Doha has made “every diplomatic effort” to end the bloodshed and to secure the release of prisoners and hostages.  “Human beings are human beings; children are children,” he emphasized, adding that starvation and the targeting of hostages have been used as a method of war in a precedent “that we cannot accept”.  He asked those present:  “How can we build the future on the bodies of those who die of hunger, and how can we reach peace as we see this amount of killing, humiliation and starvation?”

Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan, on that note, stressed that “2.3 million Palestinians must regain hope and belief in the value of their lives and their children’s future”. He called for unimpeded international assistance and the opening of all crossing points.  Meanwhile, Jordan continues doing all it can through land convoys and aid drops “when Israel leaves us no other choice”, he said, while emphasizing that aid drops cannot replace land deliveries.  Calling on those who have an alternative to the two-State solution to come forward, he affirmed that the Palestinian people will remain on their land and within their rights.

Tarek Mitri, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon, said that, since the Nakba, Palestine has been suffering tragedies “year after year, month after month” — occupation, uprooting, displacement and exile — “these crimes are multiplying before our eyes in Gaza”.  The milestones on the road to a political solution were written by the international community “with UN’s ink”, and engraved on its walls, he said, underscoring the need to stop the massacre and protect the credibility of international law. He went on to say that Israel continues to attack Lebanese territory “every single day”, violating its sovereignty and killing its citizens.

Speakers Express Support for Two-State Solution

Throughout the meeting, many speakers stressed that the Conference must lead to immediate, concrete steps, rather than be merely another symbolic debate.  Delegates also echoed support for a two-State solution and endorsed the principle of Palestinian Statehood.

“The key towards making the two-State solution viable is recognizing the State of Palestine,” underscored Mauro Luiz Lecker Vieira, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil.  This recognition is “a moral obligation”, he underscored, as failure to do so only normalizes an illegal and unjust reality marked by occupation, systematic discrimination, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and potentially, genocide.  “Virtually all Latin American and Caribbean countries — including Brazil, since 2010 — recognize the State of Palestine, as do most African and Asian countries,” he pointed out.

Anita Anand, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, noted that Member States’ collective presence today reflects strong international support for a negotiated solution:  “one that ensures Palestinians’ self-determination and Israeli security and one that charts a path towards lasting regional peace and prosperity”.  Crucially important is the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to undertake the comprehensive reforms necessary to govern Gaza and the West Bank.  To that end, she announced that Canada is pledging an additional $10 million in 2025 to accelerate reform and capacity-building for the Palestinian Authority, as well as another $30 million in “new money” for civilians in Gaza.

Similarly, Dubravka Šuica, the European Union’s Commissioner for the Mediterranean, said that the bloc will support the Palestinian Authority with €1.6 billion over the next three years.  However, “we need to do more”, she stressed, urging States to provide reform-based support to the Palestinian Authority.  Noting that she is currently working to establish a Palestinian donor group, she underlined the crucial importance of Israel’s cooperation — including the release of withheld funds and the regular and predictable transfer of clearance revenue.  “We want to see Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders,” she added.

Ministers Spotlight Tragedy in Gaza

Speakers also reiterated their concern about the devastating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and repeated calls for a ceasefire and unrestricted aid delivery.

Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of Egypt, said that the brutal war on Gaza has exceeded “all limits of human imagination and consciousness”.  It has targeted over 2.5 million people through blockade, killings, displacement and starvation, and this catastrophe is inflicted daily on civilians as they are waiting in line for humanitarian assistance.  He therefore stressed the need to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and urged the international community to fulfil its moral duty to rebuild the Strip, as per the Arab plan for early recovery and reconstruction. The Palestinian question remains the central issue in the Middle East, he stated — “there is no way to evade this fact”.

“We are here to collectively move history forward by putting an end to this tragedy,” declared Yassine Fall, Minister for African Integration and Foreign Affairs of Senegal, commending the Conference’s round-table discussions and working groups — which met earlier in the day — for their pragmatic approach to the core pillars of the issue.  The Palestinian people can no longer wait, she stressed, urging Member States to put an end to the ruin in Gaza, fully recognize the State of Palestine and admit it as a full member of the United Nations.  “The two-State solution is not just a political stance; it is a deep expression of justice and humanity,” she underscored.


2025-07-29T13:00:33-04:00

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