UNITED NATIONS: Several world leaders are expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state on Monday at a summit convened by France and Saudi Arabia, a move Israel says will undermine the prospects of a peaceful ending to the war in Gaza.
While the summit in New York could boost the morale of Palestinians, it is not expected to deliver change on the ground, where the most far-right government in Israel’s history has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it pushes on with its fight against militant group Hamas.
The two-state solution was the bedrock of the U.S.-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords. The process suffered heavy pushback from both sides and has all but died.
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR CALLS SUMMIT A ‘CIRCUS’
Israel and the United States will boycott the summit, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, said, describing the event as a “circus.”
Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday. France and five other states are expected to also formally do so on Monday at the meeting ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.
While the majority of European countries now recognise a Palestinian state, both Germany and Italy have signalled they are unlikely to make such a move soon.
Germany — long a strong supporter of Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust — has grown more critical of Israeli policy, while insisting that recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of a political process to agree on a two-state solution.
The German government spokesperson also said on Monday there must be no further annexations in Israeli-occupied territory.
Italy said recognising a Palestinian state could be “counterproductive”.
Russia still believes that a two-state solution is the only way to settle the conflict, the Kremlin said on Monday.
“This remains our approach, and we believe that it is the only possible way to find a solution to this extremely complex, long-standing conflict, which is now perhaps at its most acute and tragic stage in its entire history,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.–Reuters
