On 28 July a two-day meeting began at UN Headquarters in New York co-chaired by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of France and Saudi Arabia to discuss the two-state solution.

History of Arab-Jewish conflict

Conflict between Arabs and Jews originated with the rise of Zionism in the late 19th century in Europe, a movement which aimed to establish a Jewish state through the colonization of Palestine which was then occupied mostly by Arabs. This led to some conflict.

Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations deepened in 1917 when the UK agreed in principle to the establishment of a “national home” in Palestine for Jewish people – a pledge known as the Balfour Declaration.

Between the 1920s and 1940s the number of Jews arriving grew, with many fleeing persecution in Europe. The murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust gave added urgency to demands for a safe haven. This led to even more conflict between the two communities.

In 1947 the United Nations General Assembly voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states. No Arab nations supported this. They argued the plan gave the Jews more of the land, even though their population was smaller.

Jewish leaders in Palestine declared an independent state known as Israel which was recognised by the UN the following year.

Israel was attacked and surrounded by the armies of five Arab nations leading to the 1948 Palestine war. By the time the war ended in 1949, Israel controlled most of the territory including not only the area the UN had proposed for the Jewish state but also almost 60% of the area earlier proposed for the Arab state.

During the war, 700,000, or about 80% of all Palestinians fled or were driven out of territory Israel conquered and were not allowed to return, an event known as the Nakba (Arabic for ‘catastrophe’) to Palestinians.

After the war, only two parts of Palestine remained in Arab control: the West Bank and East Jerusalem were annexed by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt.

Several conflicts followed including 1956 when British, French and Israeli armies invaded Egypt and the Six-Day War in 1967 when Israel fought Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

As a result Israel occupied the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip.

The proposed two-State solution

The two-state solution is an approach aimed at resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by establishing a Palestinian state in the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip while preserving Israel’s security. It is supported by many countries and the Palestinian Authority.

But neither the United States nor Israel support the idea.

Countries recognising Palestinian statehood

About 147 out of the 193 United Nations member states have so far recognised Palestine as a state. The United States does not recognise Palestine as a state and has vetoed all resolutions before the UN Security Council supporting the two-state solution.

On 24 July French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would officially recognise a Palestinian state at a UN General Assembly meeting in September, making it the first member of the group of seven (G7) most advanced economies to do so.

On 29 July UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would do the same unless Israel took a series of steps to prevent it, such as a ceasefire, allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected taking these actions, posting on X: “Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims. A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW”.

Summary of the Conference

UN Secretary-General António Guterre warned that the two-State solution was at “breaking point”. He warned that the two-State solution is “farther than ever before,” amid ongoing conflict, deepening occupation, and the absence of a credible political horizon.

He condemned both the 7 October Hamas attacks and what he described as the “obliteration” of Gaza, including mass civilian casualties, starvation and destruction of infrastructure. The UN chief urged world leaders to ensure the conference becomes a turning point for irreversible progress toward a two-State solution, calling it the only credible path to peace based on international law.

United States Rejects the Conference

Neither the United States nor Israel attended the conference. The US State Department said on 28 July it would not participate in the conference criticizing the summit as harmful to ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the UN two-state solution conference is an “ill-advised stunt that will further embolden Hamas and undermine our serious diplomatic efforts to end the war.”