by JPost exclusive
The UN Conference on The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution was held in New York behind closed doors on Tuesday.
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France on Tuesday failed in its attempt to rally all participants at the UN Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in New York to call on countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
A document presented to the participating countries and obtained by The Jerusalem Post, read: “We, the foreign ministers of countries that have recognized Palestine as a state or have expressed our willingness to do so, call on other countries around the world to join the call to recognize Palestine as a state.”
The failed event took place at a closed-door meeting of foreign ministers who attended the conference in New York. The French delegation, led by Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, presented the proposal to the participants, but in some cases, it was not well received.
Some of the countries that have already recognized Palestine, such as Norway, Slovenia, Iceland, and Ireland, called on additional countries to join them.
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said during the discussion that Israel only understands pressure, and that President Emmanuel Macron should not be left alone.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Harris agreed and said the move would give significant momentum to the peace process. In their experience, such declarations are very important.
On the other hand, a significant number of European countries said they could not agree to such a document when being asked to respond on such short notice, within 48 hours. Some of them expressed support for the idea of a Palestinian state but said they would feel more comfortable joining a collective move rather than acting alone.
Asian countries that participated in the discussion did not express interest in joining the joint declaration. Japan, Singapore, and South Korea said they supported the idea of a two-state solution but could not join such a declaration without further consideration.
Australia cannot recognize Palestinian state if it remains unclear whether Hamas will play a role
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in the discussion that they could not recognize a Palestinian state immediately because it was still unclear whether Hamas would play a role in such a state. Once that issue was clarified, and it was confirmed that Hamas would have no role, Australia could proceed with recognition.According to a Western diplomat who spoke to the Post, France is preparing to push for a wave of recognitions of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
The conference in New York, he said, was just the beginning. It was meant to bring the issue of recognition to the forefront, and in September, France aims to significantly advance the effort and encourage other countries to follow suit.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the Post that “The conference does not promote a solution but rather deepens the illusion.”
He said that instead of demanding the release of hostages and working to dismantle Hamas’s terrorist regime, the organizers “are engaged in discussions detached from reality.”
JPost exclusive
Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-862647
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