<\/p>\n
To learn more about the High-level international conference, please visit the dedicated page<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n 29 July 2025<\/p>\n High-Level International Conference on Two-State Solution,<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n Co-chaired by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of France and Saudi Arabia, the \u201cHigh-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution\u201d continued today.\u00a0 Held pursuant to General Assembly resolution\u00a079\/81<\/a><\/em>\u00a0to advance the implementation of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ resolutions pertaining to the question of Palestine and the two-State solution, the Conference resumed on 28\u00a0July and will continue through 30 July. \u00a0[For coverage of the 28 July meeting, please see Press Release\u00a0PAL\/2248<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n This Conference takes place amid \u201ca brazen and wanton act of genocide in full view of the world\u201d, said Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa.\u00a0 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 \u2014 indicating its intention to annex this territory. \u00a0\u201cThis could effectively bury the two-State solution,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n \u201cPeace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without justice for Palestine [and] justice cannot be delivered without implementing the two-State solution,\u201d said Touhid Hossain, Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Interim Government of Bangladesh.\u00a0 In Gaza \u2014 where over 58,000\u00a0Palestinians have lost their lives and countless bodies lie beneath rubble \u2014 \u201cthe world is witnessing one of the gravest genocides of our time\u201d, he emphasized, calling for accountability and visible action.\u00a0 \u201cWords alone will not heal the suffering of the Palestinian people,\u201d he stressed, adding that \u2014 from this Conference \u2014 \u201cwe simply cannot go back to where we were\u201d.<\/p>\n 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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-proposed solution \u2014 a Palestinian State living peacefully side by side with Israel \u2014 is \u201cthe only way forward\u201d. \u00a0For 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.<\/p>\n Over the course of the day, numerous speakers reaffirmed their support for the Palestinian Authority and highlighted their Governments\u2019 ongoing efforts to advance the realization of the two-State solution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe come together not only as representatives of our Governments, but as human beings,\u201d stated Luca Beccari, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Digital Transition of San Marino.\u00a0 He spotlighted the adoption of a historic recommendation committing his Government to recognize the State of Palestine by the end of\u00a02025.\u00a0 This is not \u201ca symbolic gesture\u201d, but the outcome of \u201ca principled stance\u201d grounded in values such as the rejection of war, the right of peoples to self-determination and the primacy of international law, he asserted.<\/p>\n Jun Zhai, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue, also reaffirmed his country\u2019s long-standing support for the Palestinian Authority\u2019s governance and capacity.\u00a0 In July\u00a02024, China invited all Palestinian factions to Beijing for reconciliation talks that culminated in the signing of the \u201cBeijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity\u201d.\u00a0Highlighting China\u2019s ongoing aid and training programmes for Palestine, he pledged continued humanitarian and development assistance aimed at laying the groundwork for a viable Palestinian State.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0(Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA); suspended arms exports that could be used in Gaza; and signed \u201ca landmark agreement\u201d with the Palestinian Authority.\u00a0It further delivered three sanctions packages on violent settlers; suspended trade negotiations with the Israeli Government; and sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers for incitement.<\/p>\n And, underscoring that the Israeli Government\u2019s rejection of a two-State solution is \u201cwrong\u201d, he declared:\u00a0 \u201cAnd so, it is with the hand of history on our shoulders that His Majesty\u2019s Government therefore intends to recognize the State of Palestine when the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly gathers in September here in New York.\u201d \u00a0He added:\u00a0 \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Vahan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, announced an agreement with Palestine for Armenia\u2019s Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts \u2014 also known as the Matenadaran \u2014 to temporarily safeguard endangered Palestinian cultural heritage.<\/p>\n Turning to the the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, many speakers \u2014 among them, the representative of Barbados, speaking for the Caribbean Community\u00a0(CARICOM) \u2014 underscored the urgent need to ensure accountability for violations committed by Israel and those who support its actions.<\/p>\n While Israel is turning a deaf ear to international outrage, \u201cGaza has become a land of walking corpses\u201d, stressed Celinda Sosa Lunda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bolivia.\u00a0 \u201cCivilians, children, older persons, the press and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ officials \u2014 when did they all become targets in war?\u201d she asked, urging accountability for those financing this violence. \u00a0In 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 \u201cend its complicity with Israel\u201d, warning that its repeated use of the veto on the matter only fuels impunity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe images coming out of Gaza in the twenty-first century will haunt humanity for the years to come,\u201d echoed Nuh Y\u0131lmaz, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of T\u00fcrkiye. \u00a0The failure to achieve a two-State solution so far is due to Israel\u2019s ongoing occupation, and this Conference was delayed because of Israel\u2019s attacks on Iran.\u00a0 \u201cIsrael has strategically been exporting instability to the whole region by seeking endless wars with hegemonic intentions,\u201d he stressed, adding that no central authority is spared and that failed States are desired \u2014\u201ceven engineered\u201d.\u00a0 He concluded:\u00a0\u201cThat begins and ends with the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State.\u201d<\/p>\n While underscoring that Hamas must have no role in the future governance of Gaza, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsd\u00f3ttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, rejected the claim that recognition of the State of Palestine is a reward to terrorist groups. \u00a0It is not a gift, she said, but an affirmation of the Palestinian people\u2019s inherent right to Statehood.\u00a0 Addressing the people of Gaza, she said that the international community sees \u201cyour suffering\u201d as well as \u201cyour resilience and your right to peace\u201d. \u00a0She added: \u00a0\u201cThe time for action is now, not after more lives are lost.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia, emphasized that a two-State solution \u201ccannot be a cosmetic fix that legitimizes the occupation\u201d, and there must be no conditions attached to the full exercise of the Palestinians\u2019 right to self-determination. \u00a0\u201cThe Palestinian State must be a viable, sovereign, political entity,\u201d she said \u2014 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201ca fundamental step in building an independent Palestinian State\u201d.\u00a0 He also rejected all attempts to alter the demographic reality of Palestinian territory.\u00a0 Relatedly, Uganda\u2019s delegate, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, underscored Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s indispensable role in Gaza\u2019s reconstruction and rejected Israel\u2019s attempts to sideline the Agency.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0Additionally, he urged support for the Arab-Islamic plan for Gaza\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201ccannot forego\u201d the foundation laid by the 2002\u00a0Arab Peace Initiative.\u00a0Supported by all Arab States, he described it as a \u201cconstructive, balanced framework\u201d and an \u201cunavoidable model\u201d for a just and comprehensive solution consistent with international law.<\/p>\n Throughout the meeting, many speakers \u2014 including the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Greece and the Netherlands \u2014 stressed the need to empower a responsible Palestinian Authority, capable of governing effectively.\u00a0Jukka 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 \u2014 currently being withheld by Israel \u2014 that are rightfully its own.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 \u201cEvery day that passes without a solution deepens the wounds and distances the chances of peace,\u201d he cautioned, underlining the need for \u201cpolitical courage to move towards peace as the optimal strategic option\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 & 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\n2nd & 3rd Meetings (AM & PM)<\/strong><\/p>\nSpeakers Underline Conference\u2019s Importance, Timing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
States Detail Support for Palestine, United Kingdom Announces Conditional Recognition<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Speakers Also Call for Accountability<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Concrete Visions for Palestinian State, Gaza\u2019s Reconstruction<\/strong><\/h3>\n