Situation in Palestinian territories 'never more dire', warns Saudi UN envoy

Two-state solution summit to resume during UN General Assembly meeting this month

Smoke and dust fill the air following an Israeli airstrike on the Mushtaha Tower in the west of Gaza City on Friday. EPA

Saudi Arabia’s UN envoy on Friday described the situation in the Palestinian territories as “never more dire”, citing escalating violence, a deepening humanitarian crisis and the erosion of hope for peace.

His comments come as Israel continues its punishing campaign in Gaza, and as settler violence against Palestinians continues to rise in the West Bank.

The UN General Assembly voted on Friday on an oral decision seeking to resume the high-level summit on a two-state solution, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia.

“The process cannot be allowed to stall,” Saudi representative Abdulaziz Alwasil told diplomats. “This is a substantive commitment by the international community to act with resolve, consistency and responsibility at a time when the stakes are higher than ever. Saudi Arabia and France will continue to work closely with all partners to advance this process.”

The conference, scheduled for September 22, will once again place the long-elusive question of Palestinian statehood on the international agenda, a subject many leaders have argued is the only durable path to ending the conflict.

The US dismissed the procedural vote as political theatre. Ting Wu, the US deputy political counsellor, said “the date is an ill-timed publicity stunt that undermines serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict”.

“Far from promoting peace, the conference will prolong the war, embolden Hamas, and undermine efforts to achieve peace,” she said. “The United States will not participate in this insult to the victims of October 7 but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace.”

Ms Wu argued that Washington's focus remains on serious diplomacy, “not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance”.

Israel’s deputy ambassador Jonathan Miller struck a similar note, calling the Franco-Saudi initiative “not a serious attempt at peacemaking” but “nothing more than a publicity stunt”.

Empty statements, he added, were “pure oxygen for Hamas”.

“What clearer proof do we need?” Mr Miller asked. “When terrorists are the ones cheering you on, you’re on the wrong side of history.”