Spain will host a international ministry-level assembly with the attendance of a number of European and Muslim international locations in Madrid on Friday to debate Palestinian statehood, the Spanish and Norwegian governments stated.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares will host the assembly, which might be attended by his European counterparts, European Union international coverage chief Josep Borrell, and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza.
The two-state resolution set out within the 1991 Madrid Conference and the 1993-95 Oslo Accords has lengthy been seen by the worldwide neighborhood as one of the simplest ways to settle the decades-long battle, however the peace course of has been moribund for years.
However, the seek for a peaceable resolution has been given new urgency by the 11-month-long battle as Israel carries out massacres in Gaza – the bloodiest episode but within the general battle – in addition to escalating Israeli violence within the occupied West Bank.
On May 28, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally acknowledged a unified Palestinian state dominated by the Palestinian Authority comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. With them, 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations now acknowledge Palestinian statehood.
Albares hosted a diplomatic assembly with the Gaza Contact Group on May 29 wherein members mentioned the following steps towards actively implementing the two-state resolution.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has repeatedly described the co-existence of two sovereign states on the territory of the previous Mandatory Palestine as the one viable path to peace within the area.
The West Bank, together with East Jerusalem, was invaded by Israel within the 1967 Middle East battle and has been occupied ever since, with increasing unlawful Jewish settlements complicating the problem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in a transfer not acknowledged internationally.
In an interview with Reuters, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa would attend the assembly in Madrid.
Issues that want resolving, Barth Eide stated, embrace the “actual establishment of the Palestinian state or a very credible path to it” and the strengthening of Palestinian establishments.
They additionally included the demobilization of Hamas – which managed Gaza previous to the battle – “so that they’re out of business as a military actor.”
The normalization of ties between Israel and another states, notably Saudi Arabia, was additionally vital for Israel, he stated.
The Gaza Contact Group – an initiative of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – contains international locations akin to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Türkiye.
Source: www.dailysabah.com