General Assembly Hears Calls for Accountability, Concrete Steps towards Palestinian State, as High-Level Conference Continues – Press Release

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

29 July 2025

High-Level International Conference on Two-State Solution,
2nd & 3rd Meetings (AM & PM)

Noting that global attention is on their meeting today, ministers and other speakers in the General Assembly acknowledged expectations to deliver an effective response to the destruction of an entire population and a peaceful path for a viable Palestinian State.

Co-chaired by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of France and Saudi Arabia, the “High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” continued today.  Held pursuant to General Assembly resolution 79/81 to advance the implementation of UN resolutions pertaining to the question of Palestine and the two-State solution, the Conference resumed on 28 July and will continue through 30 July.  [For coverage of the 28 July meeting, please see Press Release PAL/2248.)

Speakers Underline Conference’s Importance, Timing

This Conference takes place amid “a brazen and wanton act of genocide in full view of the world”, said Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa.  In the week leading up to it, a concerning message was sent as the Israeli Knesset adopted a motion calling for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley — indicating its intention to annex this territory.  “This could effectively bury the two-State solution,” he warned.

“Peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without justice for Palestine [and] justice cannot be delivered without implementing the two-State solution,” said Touhid Hossain, Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Interim Government of Bangladesh.  In Gaza — where over 58,000 Palestinians have lost their lives and countless bodies lie beneath rubble — “the world is witnessing one of the gravest genocides of our time”, he emphasized, calling for accountability and visible action.  “Words alone will not heal the suffering of the Palestinian people,” he stressed, adding that — from this Conference — “we simply cannot go back to where we were”.

Mbae Mohamed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, responsible for the Arab World, the Diaspora, Francophonie and African Integration of Comoros, underscored that the UN-proposed solution — a Palestinian State living peacefully side by side with Israel — is “the only way forward”.  For their part, Member States have a responsibility to ensure that this Conference firmly places the future of the Palestinian people at the top of the international agenda, he added.

States Detail Support for Palestine, United Kingdom Announces Conditional Recognition

Over the course of the day, numerous speakers reaffirmed their support for the Palestinian Authority and highlighted their Governments’ ongoing efforts to advance the realization of the two-State solution.

“We come together not only as representatives of our Governments, but as human beings,” stated Luca Beccari, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Digital Transition of San Marino.  He spotlighted the adoption of a historic recommendation committing his Government to recognize the State of Palestine by the end of 2025.  This is not “a symbolic gesture”, but the outcome of “a principled stance” grounded in values such as the rejection of war, the right of peoples to self-determination and the primacy of international law, he asserted.

Jun Zhai, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue, also reaffirmed his country’s long-standing support for the Palestinian Authority’s governance and capacity.  In July 2024, China invited all Palestinian factions to Beijing for reconciliation talks that culminated in the signing of the “Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity”. Highlighting China’s ongoing aid and training programmes for Palestine, he pledged continued humanitarian and development assistance aimed at laying the groundwork for a viable Palestinian State.

Over the last year, said David Lammy, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, London has restored funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); suspended arms exports that could be used in Gaza; and signed “a landmark agreement” with the Palestinian Authority. It further delivered three sanctions packages on violent settlers; suspended trade negotiations with the Israeli Government; and sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers for incitement.

And, underscoring that the Israeli Government’s rejection of a two-State solution is “wrong”, he declared:  “And so, it is with the hand of history on our shoulders that His Majesty’s Government therefore intends to recognize the State of Palestine when the UN General Assembly gathers in September here in New York.”  He added:  “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.”

For his part, Vahan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, announced an agreement with Palestine for Armenia’s Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts — also known as the Matenadaran — to temporarily safeguard endangered Palestinian cultural heritage.

Speakers Also Call for Accountability

Turning to the the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, many speakers — among them, the representative of Barbados, speaking for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) — underscored the urgent need to ensure accountability for violations committed by Israel and those who support its actions.

While Israel is turning a deaf ear to international outrage, “Gaza has become a land of walking corpses”, stressed Celinda Sosa Lunda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bolivia.  “Civilians, children, older persons, the press and the UN officials — when did they all become targets in war?” she asked, urging accountability for those financing this violence.  In that vein, the representative of Venezuela, speaking for the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, called on the United States to “end its complicity with Israel”, warning that its repeated use of the veto on the matter only fuels impunity.

“The images coming out of Gaza in the twenty-first century will haunt humanity for the years to come,” echoed Nuh Yılmaz, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Türkiye.  The failure to achieve a two-State solution so far is due to Israel’s ongoing occupation, and this Conference was delayed because of Israel’s attacks on Iran.  “Israel has strategically been exporting instability to the whole region by seeking endless wars with hegemonic intentions,” he stressed, adding that no central authority is spared and that failed States are desired —“even engineered”.  He concluded: “That begins and ends with the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State.”

While underscoring that Hamas must have no role in the future governance of Gaza, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, rejected the claim that recognition of the State of Palestine is a reward to terrorist groups.  It is not a gift, she said, but an affirmation of the Palestinian people’s inherent right to Statehood.  Addressing the people of Gaza, she said that the international community sees “your suffering” as well as “your resilience and your right to peace”.  She added:  “The time for action is now, not after more lives are lost.”

Concrete Visions for Palestinian State, Gaza’s Reconstruction

Therefore, speakers also outlined concrete visions for the reconstruction of Gaza and articulated proposals regarding the future structure and governance of the State of Palestine.

Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia, emphasized that a two-State solution “cannot be a cosmetic fix that legitimizes the occupation”, and there must be no conditions attached to the full exercise of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.  “The Palestinian State must be a viable, sovereign, political entity,” she said — with its own Government, the ability to defend and protect its population, full jurisdiction over its territory and its airspace, control of its borders and authority over its natural resources.

Urging strong support for the Palestinian Government and institutions, Abdullah Ali al-Yahya, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, said that expanding its authority over the entire Palestinian territory is “a fundamental step in building an independent Palestinian State”.  He also rejected all attempts to alter the demographic reality of Palestinian territory.  Relatedly, Uganda’s delegate, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, underscored UNRWA’s indispensable role in Gaza’s reconstruction and rejected Israel’s attempts to sideline the Agency.

Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs of Yemen, called for sustained financial and political support to the Palestinian Government and for efforts to unify Palestinian institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under a single national authority. Additionally, he urged support for the Arab-Islamic plan for Gaza’s early recovery, developed by Egypt in coordination with the State of Palestine and endorsed by the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

In a similar vein, Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti, said that any lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict “cannot forego” the foundation laid by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. Supported by all Arab States, he described it as a “constructive, balanced framework” and an “unavoidable model” for a just and comprehensive solution consistent with international law.

Throughout the meeting, many speakers — including the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Greece and the Netherlands — stressed the need to empower a responsible Palestinian Authority, capable of governing effectively. Jukka Salovaara, Permanent State Secretary of Finland, underscored that the Palestinian Authority must also have the financial means to develop Palestinian society, including access to clearance revenues — currently being withheld by Israel — that are rightfully its own.

For his part, Khalifa Shaheen al Marar, Minister for State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, urged the adoption of a binding and irreversible roadmap for the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian State.  “Every day that passes without a solution deepens the wounds and distances the chances of peace,” he cautioned, underlining the need for “political courage to move towards peace as the optimal strategic option”.