France announces conference on two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

(Patria) - A conference on the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, supported by France and Saudi Arabia, will be held from June 17 to 20 at UN headquarters in New York.

The conference will be organized by the UN General Assembly under joint French-Saudi presidency, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 150 countries recognize the State of Palestine, which has observer status at the United Nations but is not a full member because the Security Council has not voted on its admission.

In May 2024, Ireland, Norway, and Spain took the step of recognizing the Palestinian state, but other European governments, including France, have not.

President Emmanuel Macron said in April that France could recognize a Palestinian state in June.

Macron said at the time that he wanted to organize the New York conference to encourage the recognition of the State of Palestine, "but also the recognition of Israel by states that do not currently do so".

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized relations with Israel in accordance with the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 during the first term of US President Donald Trump.

However, many Arab countries have not yet joined the agreement, particularly Saudi Arabia, as well as Israeli neighbors Syria and Lebanon.

Even before the start of the war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas's attack in October 2023, Saudi Arabia rejected normalizing relations with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is firmly opposed to any such move. Several of his ministers have in recent months called for Israel to annex the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.