United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres restated his commitment to the two-state solution, a much-debated path toward the peaceful co-existence of Israel and Palestine as two sovereign nations.
A UN conference led by France and Saudi Arabia and mandated by a General Assembly resolution last year, was scheduled to be held from June 17-20. But it was postponed on June 13, immediately after the recent escalation between Israel and Iran began.
“The Secretary-General remains committed to a negotiated two-State solution, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, international law, and prior agreements, so that Israel and Palestine can finally live side by side, in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States,” said Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesperson, on June 16.
France and Saudi Arabia said in a letter dated June 13 and seen by PassBlue that the meeting was postponed because the fighting between Israel and Iran has made it difficult for leaders in the region to travel to New York City, where member states were expected to debate the issue of the two-state solution and produce a declaration on the issue. Some diplomats also said the gathering was meant to entice more countries to recognize Palestine as a state.
“We will only open the meeting and proceed to propose the suspension of the conference,” France and Saudi Arabia said in their joint letter. It is unclear, however, if the conference is postponed indefinitely or canceled. Emails sent by PassBlue to the French and Saudi government organizers were not answered. A European diplomat suggested the conference could begin on June 30 — adhering to the resolution’s mandate that it be held this month — and end in early July.
Israel closed its airspace immediately after it launched its attack against Iran on Thursday evening. According to news reports, Israeli airlines have moved their planes out of the country just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official aircraft, Wing of Zion, was sighted in Greece.
A diplomatic source said that the conference will technically open on June 17 at 10 A.M. in the General Assembly, as planned, only to announce the postponement. Additionally, a Council member told PassBlue that the 15-member body is confused about the future of the conference. An email sent to the Palestinian delegation to the UN about the rescheduling of the conference did not respond. [Update, June 17: The conference has been suspended “until further notice,” France’s envoy told the General Assembly this morning]
High hopes for a meaningful impact of the conference were somewhat dimmed after France appeared to backtrack on its initial step to recognize Palestinian statehood and instead said the agenda would focus on deliberating over the next steps toward a two-state solution. France’s recognition would have meant endorsement from a permanent member of the Security Council and a G7 country, signaling some progress for Palestinians.
Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, wrote to President Emmanuel Macron of France and to Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister of Saudi Arabia, on June 9, to share “our vision, our commitments and our expectations” in the lead-up to the UN conference. In the letter, which was posted online, Abbas outlined numerous points to “end the Israeli occupation” in the path to “peace and security.” The first step entailed an immediate ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza.
Macron wrote his reply, saying, among other remarks, “I received a letter of hope, courage, and clarity.” (Macron was slated to attend the conference on June 18.)
The United States, however, staunchly opposed the conference. On June 10, the Trump administration circulated a démarche, warning UN member states not to participate in the gathering. The night before, a State Department spokesperson told PassBlue that the “conference would be counterproductive and we will encourage others not to participate.”
The UN continues to appeal daily to Israel to allow the organization access into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to the millions of people going hungry. But Israel continuously restricts most efforts by the UN to enable the flow of food, medical supplies and fuel into the enclave.
As to the recent escalation interrupting the UN conference, both Iran and Israel are trying to draw the US into the war with their rhetoric. Danny Danon, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, told journalists at the UN on Monday that Tehran not only wants to destroy Israel but also America.
“Tehran has not only tried to assassinate our prime minister but it has also tried to assassinate President [Donald] Trump,” he said.
Later in the day, Iranian Permanent Representative Amir-Saeid Iravani blamed the US for emboldening Israel. “Without the US’ weapons and political backing, this attack would not have happened,” he said.
At least 224 people have been killed and 1,400 more people injured in Iran since Israel attacked the country on June 12, according to its health ministry. Iranian retaliatory missiles, many of which have been intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, have killed at least 13 people and injured 380 more in Israel.
Israeli airstrikes bombed an Iranian television station during a live broadcast on Monday. Justifying the hit, Danon said that Israel would attack targets of “anyone who is cooperating” with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, “supporting their efforts of this terror regime. . . .”
This article has been updated.
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Damilola Banjo is an award-winning staff reporter for PassBlue who has covered a wide range of topics, from Africa-centered stories to gender equality to UN peacekeeping and US-UN relations. She also oversees all video production for PassBlue. She was a Dag Hammarskjold fellow in 2023 and a Pulitzer Center postgraduate fellow in 2021. She was part of the BBC Africa team that produced the Emmy-nominated documentary, “Sex for Grades.” In addition, she worked for WFAE, an NPR affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. Banjo has a master’s of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an undergraduate degree from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.
Beyond the resolutions in the UN Security Council again the US vetoed a conference on Palestine and life goes on, genocide goes on in Gaza and the West Bank, and Lebanon, Iran and Syria are bombarded every day and night! The war against terrorisme in the Sahel is sustained though the support of the same Western World!