Press Conference: United Nations High-Level International Conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution”

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

29 July 2025

Press conference by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the United Nations High-Level International Conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution”.

The folloiwng is an extract from the transcript, obtained using YouTube’s official built-in transcript tool, which displays the video’s caption text. Timestamps were removed for clarity. Minor edits have been made for readability, including the removal of filler words and repetitions, without altering the intended meaning.

Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France:

“…The situation in Gaza is uh horrendous. The civilian population in Israel and the Palestinian are paying the horrible price for the terrorist attacks on the 7th of October and for the war that is being waged by Israel and Gaza.

The plight of the hostages still detained by Hamas. the pictures we see every day of civilians who are starving, who are being bombarded by of children and women held detained is an assault on our humanity and international principles to which we are committed.

We therefore wanted to bring together the international community and therefore provide a political horizon which is needed so as to have a ceasefire which is now being discussed under the [auspices] of the United Nations, Egypt and Qatar.

Our main goal was to deliver a very clear message and say that peace is possible. We wanted to [pursue] an alternative to the permanent state of war in the region. And this alternative has to include and go through a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living in peace and security. And this is a historic position that is still been upheld by France and this is the only way forward possible…”

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

“…The resumption of the high level international conference for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution reflects a wide international consensus that the way to end the violence and suffering is the actual implementation of the two-state solution based on the our peace initiative, UN resolutions and the principle of land for peace.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Republic of France and all our partners are committed to turn this international consensus to a tangible reality. It is time to end this conflict and to establish a Palestinian state and to achieve lasting and comprehensive peace that preserves security and sovereignty for all peoples of the region. In this context, we commend the announcement by President Macron, the commitment to recognize the state of Palestine. This is a historic step that reflects the acknowledgement of the international community of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The peace between Israel and Palestine is the first step to establish regional peace where everybody lives in security. This would open horizons for cooperation and joint prosperity. Our meeting is held at a critical juncture.

The tragedy of starvation is unfolding before us. The attempts for force displacement persist and other unilateral measures persist. They jeopardize the two-state solution. Most notably, expanding settlements, force displacement, and attempts to for annexation. The war in Gaza must end immediately. In this context, we renew our full support to Qatari, Egyptian, and US efforts to reactivate the ceasefire, which would include releasing all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid without any obstacles.

We categorically reject any attempt to separate Gaza from the rest of the Palestinian territories or occupying Gaza or imposing a siege on Gaza or forcibly displace the Gazan under any justification and any argument. We highly value the statements by President Mahmud Abbas on the 9th of June which included choosing peace as strategic choice and ensuring that the Palestinian people are granted their legitimate rights through peaceful means and undertake all necessary reforms in that regard. We also express our commitment to support the efforts of Palestinian authority to ensure reforms and good governance and to work with the international community to support the reconstruction of Gaza, according to the Arab Muslim plan that received wide international support…”