France and Saudi Arabia are seizing the moment of crisis at this year’s United Nations General Assembly to revive global momentum for a two-state solution , even as the war in Gaza rages and obstacles pile up.
Their initiative comes with a new road map for Palestinian statehood in territories Israel captured in 1967, alongside moves by Western nations to join the global majority in recognising a Palestinian state before it officially exists.
On Sunday, Britain, Canada and Australia announced recognition, bringing the tally to nearly 150 countries. France is expected to add its name during this week’s Assembly session.
The push, however, collides head-on with opposition from Washington and Jerusalem. The United States has barred Palestinian representatives from even attending the Assembly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects Palestinian statehood outright, has warned of unilateral countermeasures that could include annexing parts of the West Bank.
Such a move would deal a further blow to Palestinian hopes for independence.
An idea losing ground
The notion of two states, Israel and Palestine side by side, has long been the internationally endorsed path to peace. Supporters argue it would secure Israel’s identity as a democratic state with a Jewish majority, while granting Palestinians sovereignty in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Without it, critics say, Israel presides over a system where Jewish citizens enjoy full rights while Palestinians remain under varying degrees of control. Leading rights groups call this apartheid.
"Israel must understand that the one state solution, with the subjugation of the Palestinian people without rights — that is absolutely intolerable,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said last week. “Without a two-state solution, there will be no peace in the Middle East."
Yet since peace talks began in the 1990s, they have stumbled amid waves of violence and the steady spread of Israeli settlements . Netanyahu’s return to office in 2009 froze substantive negotiations, while Israel continued annexing east Jerusalem and building settlements now housing over half a million Israelis in the West Bank.
Palestinians in those area, about 3 million people, live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising only fragmented autonomy. In Gaza, Israel’s offensive has killed tens of thousands, uprooted nearly 90 percent of the enclave’s 2 million residents, and left entire districts uninhabitable.
The French-Saudi plan
Against this bleak backdrop, Paris and Riyadh are advancing a phased peace plan. It envisions a demilitarised Palestinian state administered by the Palestinian Authority with international backing.
The plan demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and a full Israeli withdrawal. Hamas would surrender authority to an independent committee operating under the Palestinian Authority and disarm — a step the group has resisted.
International partners would help rebuild Gaza and stabilise governance, possibly with foreign peacekeepers. That could pave the way for regional normalisation, including Saudi recognition of Israel. Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly adopted a nonbinding resolution endorsing what is being called the “New York Declaration.”
Resistance from Washington and Jerusalem
The United States and Israel argue that creating a Palestinian state rewards Hamas and undermines efforts to end the war or free captives. Talks over a ceasefire collapsed again after Israel struck Hamas negotiators in Qatar on Sept. 9. Washington had already walked away in July, blaming Hamas, and Israel had ended an earlier ceasefire in March.
Israeli officials warn that a Palestinian state could become a launchpad for attacks similar to Oct. 7, but on a larger scale. Hamas leaders have at times said they would accept a state along the 1967 lines, but the group remains formally committed to Israel’s destruction.
Netanyahu portrays international recognition of Palestine as a hostile act. In talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, he said “it is clear that if unilateral actions are taken against us, it simply invites unilateral actions on our part.”
His coalition partners openly push for annexing swaths of the West Bank, which would foreclose any chance of a viable Palestinian state. Rubio himself has linked discussions of annexation with the growing calls for recognition of Palestine.
The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, has called annexation a “red line” without specifying what consequences might follow.
Fragile foundations
The French-Saudi framework sidesteps the thorniest issues: final borders, settlements, refugees, Jerusalem and Israel’s identity as a Jewish state. It leans heavily on the Palestinian Authority, whose leadership is widely distrusted among Palestinians for being corrupt and authoritarian.
The plan requires elections within a year, but President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly postponed votes when defeat loomed, citing Israeli restrictions. Hamas, which won the last elections in 2006, would be barred unless it disarms and recognises Israel.
With such hurdles, the plan risks joining the long list of shelved peace blueprints. For now, Israel maintains control from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, ruling over millions of Palestinians without granting them equal rights.
Their initiative comes with a new road map for Palestinian statehood in territories Israel captured in 1967, alongside moves by Western nations to join the global majority in recognising a Palestinian state before it officially exists.
On Sunday, Britain, Canada and Australia announced recognition, bringing the tally to nearly 150 countries. France is expected to add its name during this week’s Assembly session.
The push, however, collides head-on with opposition from Washington and Jerusalem. The United States has barred Palestinian representatives from even attending the Assembly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects Palestinian statehood outright, has warned of unilateral countermeasures that could include annexing parts of the West Bank.
Such a move would deal a further blow to Palestinian hopes for independence.
An idea losing ground
The notion of two states, Israel and Palestine side by side, has long been the internationally endorsed path to peace. Supporters argue it would secure Israel’s identity as a democratic state with a Jewish majority, while granting Palestinians sovereignty in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Without it, critics say, Israel presides over a system where Jewish citizens enjoy full rights while Palestinians remain under varying degrees of control. Leading rights groups call this apartheid.
"Israel must understand that the one state solution, with the subjugation of the Palestinian people without rights — that is absolutely intolerable,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said last week. “Without a two-state solution, there will be no peace in the Middle East."
Yet since peace talks began in the 1990s, they have stumbled amid waves of violence and the steady spread of Israeli settlements . Netanyahu’s return to office in 2009 froze substantive negotiations, while Israel continued annexing east Jerusalem and building settlements now housing over half a million Israelis in the West Bank.
Palestinians in those area, about 3 million people, live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising only fragmented autonomy. In Gaza, Israel’s offensive has killed tens of thousands, uprooted nearly 90 percent of the enclave’s 2 million residents, and left entire districts uninhabitable.
The French-Saudi plan
Against this bleak backdrop, Paris and Riyadh are advancing a phased peace plan. It envisions a demilitarised Palestinian state administered by the Palestinian Authority with international backing.
The plan demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and a full Israeli withdrawal. Hamas would surrender authority to an independent committee operating under the Palestinian Authority and disarm — a step the group has resisted.
International partners would help rebuild Gaza and stabilise governance, possibly with foreign peacekeepers. That could pave the way for regional normalisation, including Saudi recognition of Israel. Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly adopted a nonbinding resolution endorsing what is being called the “New York Declaration.”
Resistance from Washington and Jerusalem
The United States and Israel argue that creating a Palestinian state rewards Hamas and undermines efforts to end the war or free captives. Talks over a ceasefire collapsed again after Israel struck Hamas negotiators in Qatar on Sept. 9. Washington had already walked away in July, blaming Hamas, and Israel had ended an earlier ceasefire in March.
Israeli officials warn that a Palestinian state could become a launchpad for attacks similar to Oct. 7, but on a larger scale. Hamas leaders have at times said they would accept a state along the 1967 lines, but the group remains formally committed to Israel’s destruction.
Netanyahu portrays international recognition of Palestine as a hostile act. In talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, he said “it is clear that if unilateral actions are taken against us, it simply invites unilateral actions on our part.”
His coalition partners openly push for annexing swaths of the West Bank, which would foreclose any chance of a viable Palestinian state. Rubio himself has linked discussions of annexation with the growing calls for recognition of Palestine.
The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, has called annexation a “red line” without specifying what consequences might follow.
Fragile foundations
The French-Saudi framework sidesteps the thorniest issues: final borders, settlements, refugees, Jerusalem and Israel’s identity as a Jewish state. It leans heavily on the Palestinian Authority, whose leadership is widely distrusted among Palestinians for being corrupt and authoritarian.
The plan requires elections within a year, but President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly postponed votes when defeat loomed, citing Israeli restrictions. Hamas, which won the last elections in 2006, would be barred unless it disarms and recognises Israel.
With such hurdles, the plan risks joining the long list of shelved peace blueprints. For now, Israel maintains control from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, ruling over millions of Palestinians without granting them equal rights.
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