Iranian protesters chant while wearing white shrouds, a symbolic gesture showing that they are ready to die for their cause, in support of Hezbollah in Felestin (Palestine) Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, early Saturday, September 28, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP
European, Arab, and Islamic countries have launched initiatives to strengthen support for the Palestinian State and its institutions, and prepare for the future after the war in Gaza and the growing conflict in Lebanon, Norway’s Foreign Minister said Friday, September 27, 2024.
Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that “there is a large consensus in the international community from Western countries, from Arab countries, from the Global South, that we must establish the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian government, the Palestinian state – and the Palestinian State must be recognized.”
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Mr. Eide said many issues need to be addressed, including Israeli and Palestinian security interests, recognition and normalization of relations after decades of conflict, and the demobilization of Hamas as a military group.
“This is a piece of a bigger puzzle,” Norway’s top diplomat said. “And you can’t go in with one of those pieces, because it only works if all the pieces are in place.” But even if the puzzle is solved, it is unlikely to gain traction with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, Eide believes that after decades of failed or deadlocked negotiations, “we must take a new approach” to achieving an independent Palestinian State.
To speed up work on the issue, Mr. Eide said nearly 90 countries attended Thursday’s meeting on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly meeting of world leaders.
He and the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister chaired a session to launch the “Global Alliance for the Implementation of a Palestinian State and a Two-State Solution.”
“We have to see how we can get out of this deadlock and try to use this deep crisis as an opportunity to move forward,” Mr. Eide told the UN Security Council meeting in Gaza later on Friday.
Norway is a guarantor of the 1993 Oslo Agreement, considered a breakthrough in the decades-long conflict between Arabs and Jews, which established the Palestinian Authority and established self-governing regions within the Palestinian Authority. Eide said more than 30 years later, the “occupation” of Israel continues, and there are no negotiations leading to a final settlement and an independent Palestinian State – which led to Norway’s decision in May to recognize the Palestinian state.
Currently, 149 of the 193 UN member states have recognized the State of Palestine. Mr. Eide urged all countries “to contribute to universal recognition” and strengthen Palestinian institutions so that they live up to the expectations of the people of the West Bank and be prepared to return to Gaza: “We want one Palestine, not a different Palestine,” he said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told the UN Security Council on Friday that his country, the joint Islamic-Arab ministerial committee, Norway and the European Union launched the alliance “because we feel the responsibility to act to change the reality of the conflict without delay.” ”
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell called on all countries to take practical steps “to bring a free Palestine next to a secure Israel.” Mr. Borrell said in X that the first meeting of the alliance will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Brussels.
Mr. Borrell questions the rhetoric of anyone who opposes a two-state solution: What is the solution, and can it be implemented? He stressed that the work on this initiative will progress rapidly.
Mr. Eide said the new effort was built on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, “but updated with today’s realities.”
The 2002 initiative, approved by the Arab League and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, offered Israel normalization of relations in exchange for a total withdrawal from the territories it captured in 1967.
He said efforts have been ongoing to build the institutions of a Palestinian state.
“Difficult,” said Mr. Eide. “Their hands are tied in many ways. We see a lot of illegal settlements and dealing with violence. “But there are still embryonic institutions that need to be strengthened,” he said.
Mr. Eide said he chaired Thursday’s meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for Palestinian Institution Building, with the United States, Canada, the European Union and many Middle Eastern and European countries contributing.
“None of these tools will solve the problem by itself, and we never pretend, but we are trying to build instruments that will lead us to a peaceful settlement,” Eide said. “And I’m sure it will happen here.”
Published – September 28, 2024 12:09 PM IST
