UN preparatory meeting in New York to lay ground for Palestinian statehood conference

Diplomatic relations between Israel and France have become increasingly tense

Pro Palestine protesters demonstrate outside UN headquarters prior to a vote at the General Assembly in New York City on December 12, 2023. AFP

UN members have been invited to a preparatory meeting on Friday in New York before an international conference next month during which France may recognise Palestine, French diplomatic sources have said.

"The aim is to unite the international community around concrete proposals with the adoption of a final document that traces the road to the settlement of the Palestine question," a diplomat said.

Palestine, which has the status of UN observer, has also been invited to Friday's meeting. It remains unclear how involved Israel will be in the June 17-20 conference that will be presided over by France and Saudi Arabia. The Israeli government rejects Palestinian statehood.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and France have soured as the conference approaches. A French Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman on Thursday said that Paris was considering issuing sanctions if Israel did not end its policy of illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank.

The spokesman also described as "outrageous and completely unjustified" accusations made by Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar against unidentified European officials for stoking anti-Semitism, after the murder of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington.

Preparations for the New York conference started in April as organisers contacted UN members to gauge their positions.

The conference's mandate derives from a UN General Assembly resolution adopted in September that endorsed a July International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Working groups

France and Saudi Arabia insisted that only senior officials from various capitals attend the technical meeting, an Arab diplomat at the UN told The National. The officials are expected to indicate their interest in taking part in one or more of the eight working method groups focusing on matters such as security and the economic viability of a future Palestinian state.

The UK and Egypt will be co-chairing the fifth working group focused on mobilising international support for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, following a plan endorsed by Arab, Islamic, EU and global partners.

The working group on humanitarian action and reconstruction will explore measures to ease the "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza and support relief efforts in the West Bank, according to one of the concept notes obtained by The National in New York.

It calls for $53 billion in funding, allocated in three phases, to rebuild the war-torn enclave. Egypt is also expected to host an international donor conference to secure financial commitments for Gaza’s long-term recovery and development.

The EU and the Arab Group are expected to co-chair the eighth working group aimed at crafting a "Peace Supporting Package" to incentivise a future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

The group will seek to maximise peace dividends for the Palestinians and Israelis when a peace agreement is reached, as well as produce detailed programmes and contributions conditional on achieving a final agreement that will support peace and ensure that it benefits all people in the region.

Turkey will be chairing the sixth working group that will explore concrete measures for protecting the two-state solution, including addressing Israel's settlement activities and attempts to annex territory and forcibly displace Palestinians.

Norway and Japan will be co-chairing the fourth working group, which will address the Palestinian Authority's budgetary crisis and its inability to invest in basic services. Israel has withheld nearly $2 billion in tax revenues since 2019, according to the PA.

Palestinians queue in front of a hot meal distribution truck, at a displacement camp near Gaza City. AFP

The conference will also reiterate statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron about the necessity of disarming Hamas and excluding it from future governance of the Palestinians.

Saudi involvement

France expects the conference to be a moment of mutual recognition, during which it and other countries may recognise Palestine, while some Arab and Muslim states will engage with Israel.

However, long-held hopes that Saudi Arabia may normalise ties with Israel have been dashed by the mounting violence in Gaza. French diplomats say they expect "signals to be sent in that direction". It remains unclear whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend the conference.

"We chose to work with Saudi Arabia, which is the biggest Muslim and Arab power, to create a knock-on effect at European, Arab and Muslim level. The conference must have the biggest impact possible," the diplomatic sources said.

French leaders say recognition of Palestinian statehood is necessary for Israel's long-term security. "A two-state solution has never been more necessary, because everything that has happened in the past year shows that the Israel-Palestine conflict cannot be frozen, rendered invisible or simply managed," diplomatic sources said.

Palestinian statehood is "endangered by the formidable destruction caused by the war in Gaza, forced displacement of the population, the increasing violence of extremist settlers and statements by members of the Israeli government calling for the annexation of the West Bank," they said.

The UK and Canada are rumoured to be among the western states that may recognise Palestinian statehood alongside France.

The UK has long endorsed a two-state solution and but always stopped short of specifying when or whether it would formally recognise a Palestinian state. Its stance aligns with broader western efforts to tie recognition to progress in negotiations, despite mounting international calls for unilateral recognition.

France, the UK and Canada on Monday threatened to impose sanctions against Israel if it continues to thwart the viability of a future Palestinian state by supporting illegal settlements in the West Bank.

A Palestinian youth sits amid the destruction after Israeli strikes in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 22. AFP