A high-level meeting of several Muslim and European countries has called for a clear schedule for the international community to implement a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“We meet to make another push for the end of the war in Gaza, for a way out of the unending spiral of violence between the Palestinians, the Israelis... That way is clear,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, whose country hosted the talks, said.
“The implementation of the two-state solution is the only way,” he told the meeting in Madrid.
In attendance were his counterparts including from Norway and Slovenia, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Palestinian Prime Minister Dr Mohammad Mustafa and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza that includes Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Türkiye.
Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Dr Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa highlighted Bahrain’s firm support for global efforts to end the carnage in Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
He told the meeting that the world must enable the Palestinians to set up an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Dr Shaikh Abdulla stressed that the two-state solution remained the only strategic option to consolidate security and stability as well as a just comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East.
Albares said there was ‘a clear willingness’ among the participants “to move on from words to actions and to make strides towards a clear schedule for the effective implementation” of a two-state solution, starting with Palestine joining the United Nations.
Israel was not invited because it was not part of the contact group, Albares said, adding though that “we will be delighted to see Israel at any table where peace and the two-state solution are discussed”.
On May 28, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a unified Palestinian state ruled 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 recognise Palestinian statehood.
However, the search for a peaceful solution has been given new urgency by the 11-month-long war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas as well as escalating violence in the occupied West Bank.
Dr Shaikh Abdulla later met Dr Mustafa and reviewed efforts to implement the outcomes of the ‘Bahrain Declaration’ from the 33rd Arab Summit, including the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, protection of civilians, facilitation of humanitarian aid, and Bahrain’s initiative to host an international peace conference for the Mideast.
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