New york: Palestine urged the international community on Monday to recognize a Palestinian state and intensify efforts to end Israel's decades-long occupation. Addressing a high-level conference on a two-state solution at the UN headquarters in New York, Palestinian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa praised France's planned move to recognize Palestinian statehood formally and called on other countries to follow suit without delay.
According to Anadolu Agency, Mustafa saluted the 'historic and courageous decision of France and President (Emmanuel) Macron to recognize the state of Palestine in September,' and urged all nations yet to do so, to recognize the state of Palestine without delay. On Thursday, Macron confirmed that Paris would officially recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly in September.
So far, 149 of the UN General Assembly's 193 member states have recognized Palestine-a number that has steadily risen since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023. Mustafa called for 'every action to end the war' on the Palestinian people, including an immediate end to the Israeli occupation, and stressed the need to unify the Palestinian territories under a sovereign government.
He emphasized the necessity of unifying Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, without occupation, siege, settlements, forcible displacement, or annexation. Mustafa urged for shared peace, security, and prosperity, calling for immediate action without delay or hesitation.
The Palestinian foreign minister also urged Hamas to relinquish its control of Gaza as part of a vision for post-war stability, suggesting that Hamas should end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Mustafa expressed readiness to invite regional and international forces to be deployed in coordination with the State of Palestine as part of a stabilization and protection mission with a Security Council mandate.
The two-day UN conference, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, focuses on reviving peace talks and advancing the implementation of a two-state solution. Despite international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued its offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in nearly 60,000 Palestinian deaths, most of them women and children, and causing widespread destruction and food shortages in the enclave.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Additionally, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the enclave.