A woman of settlers passes by an Israeli soldier who is standing in eastern Jerusalem. Photo: Irin/Andreas Hackl (file photo)
What to expect from the summit of September 22
Held on the opening day of the High Level Week of the UN General Assembly, the annual world leaders meeting of September, the initiative occurs in the middle of a deeply worrying regional backdrop: Israeli intensified military operations that have killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza since October 7, 2023; The determination of famine in northern Gaza on August 22; Israel’s attacks against Hamas officials in Qatar on September 9; and accelerate the expansion of liquidation in the West Bank.
Despite the volatile regional context, the solution of two states is to recover diplomatic traction.
On September 12, the General Assembly adopted by a broad margin of the “New York Declaration”, after a Julio Co-Anfitriona Conference for France and Saudi Arabia. He asked “fair and lasting peace based on international law and based on the solution of two states.”
To end the war, he urged Hamas to “end his role in Gaza and transmit his weapons to the Palestinian authority.” The United States and Israel, who had boycotted the July conference, voted against the text.
The September 22 summit will probably be based on that impulse: French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce France’s recognition of the State of Palestine, and several other Western countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium and Australia, are considering following the example.
In summary: the impact of the summit could inject a new impulse into the efforts to establish a UN roadmap towards two states.