Summary
Dozens of ministers urged a two-state solution at a UN conference.
The U.S. and Israel boycotted the event.
The conference aimed to renew global peace efforts.
Boycott shows U.S.-Israel opposes the UN initiative.
In September of last year, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly voted to hold a conference of such kind in 2025. The meeting, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia and France, was postponed in June following Israel's strike on Iran.
In his speech, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud called on all nations to back the conference's objective of creating a roadmap that would guarantee Israel's security while outlining the borders of a Palestinian state.
"We must ensure that it does not become another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric,"
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks.
"It can and must serve as a decisive turning point - one that catalyzes irreversible progress towards ending the occupation and realizing our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the conference:
"We must work on the ways and means to go from the end of the war in Gaza to the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at a time when this war is jeopardizing the stability and security of the entire region."
In an interview published on Sunday, Barrot told newspaper La Tribune Dimanche that he will use this week's conference to encourage other nations to follow France in recognizing a Palestinian state.
President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that France plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September during the yearly assembly of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
The path to peace begins with recognizing the state of Palestine and protecting it from destruction, said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, an official with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank under Israeli occupation. He urged all nations to "recognize the state of Palestine without delay."
“The rights of all peoples must be respected, the sovereignty of all states must be ensured. Palestine, and its people can no longer be the exception,”
he told the conference.
After over 22 months, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is still going strong. According to Israeli estimates, Palestinian Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and captured about 250 prisoners on October 7, 2023, sparking the start of the conflict. According to Gaza health officials, Israel's military operation has since killed close to 60,000 Palestinians.
According to a State Department official, the United States would not be attending the UN conference, calling it "a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza."
The State Department spokesperson added that Washington voted against the General Assembly last year calling for the conference and would
"not support actions that jeopardize the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict."
Israel is also not taking part in the conference.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said on Monday:
"This conference does not promote a solution, but rather deepens the illusion. Instead of demanding the release of the hostages and working to dismantle Hamas's reign of terror, the conference organizers are engaging in discussions and plenaries that are disconnected from reality."
The idea of two states coexisting within safe and acknowledged borders has long been supported by the U.N. Palestinians seeking a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip—all areas that Israel seized during the 1967 conflict with Arab neighbors.
In May of last year, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly supported the Palestinians' bid to join the U.N. as full members, stating that they were qualified to do so and urging the U.N. Security Council to "reconsider the matter favorably." There were nine votes against the resolution and 143 in favor.
After the U.S. vetoed the Palestinian application for full membership in the U.N. Security Council a few weeks prior, the General Assembly vote represented a global vote in favor of the move, which would essentially acknowledge a Palestinian state.
Why did the U.S. and Israel choose to boycott the conference?
The United States and Israel chose to boycott the United Nations conference on advancing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians primarily because they view it as counterproductive and potentially supportive of Israel's adversaries.
The U.S. opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state at the conference, seeing such moves as undermining ongoing efforts to end the Gaza conflict and secure the release of Israeli hostages. They argue that recognizing Palestinian statehood unilaterally would aid Hamas and spoil diplomatic efforts.
A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable revealed that Washington actively lobbied countries to avoid attending the conference, warning that participation would be seen as anti-Israel and opposed U.S. policy. Similarly, Israel condemned the conference as out of touch with reality and accused it of rewarding Hamas militants responsible for violence.