US President Donald Trump's administration is actively discouraging world leaders from taking part in a Saudi-French conference on Palestinian statehood scheduled for next week at the UN.
“This conference would be counterproductive and we will encourage others not to participate,” a State Department representative told The National.
French officials said President Emmanuel Macron is leaning toward formally recognising a Palestinian state ahead of the June 17–20 conference, which France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia.
Mr Macron, who is expected to attend the event, has said he is determined to recognise a Palestinian state, but also set out several conditions, including the “demilitarisation” of Hamas.
The goal of the conference is to establish the foundations for a plan towards a Palestinian state, with guarantees for Israel's security.
According to Reuters, the US warned countries in a memo that taking “anti-Israel actions” after the conference could be seen as opposing Washington's foreign policy interests and may lead to diplomatic repercussions.
“The United States opposes any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,” the memo read.
Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on Tuesday on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The two ministers are settlers.
“The United States opposes the implied support of the conference for potential actions including boycotts and sanctions on Israel, as well as other punitive measures,” the memo read.
Israel has repeatedly denounced the conference, saying it rewards Hamas for the October 7 attack that started the Gaza war, and has pressed France not to recognise a Palestinian state.
