World leaders meet on 2-state solution as support grows for Palestinian statehood

As the Gaza war rages on, France and Saudi Arabia are chairing a high-profile meeting at the United Nations on Monday aimed at galvanising support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with more nations expected to recognise a Palestinian state in defiance of Israel and the United States.

The meeting and expanded recognition of Palestinian statehood are expected to have little if any actual impact on the ground, where Israel is waging another major offensive in the Gaza Strip and expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to address the meeting by video after he and dozens of other senior Palestinian officials were denied US visas to attend the conference.

The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognised the state of Palestine on Sunday, and the Palestinians expect a total of 10 countries, including France, to do so in the coming days. Around three-fourths of the 193-member United Nations recognises Palestine, but major Western nations had until recently declined to, saying one could only come about through negotiations with Israel.

Palestinians have welcomed the moves toward recognition, hoping they might someday lead to independence. “This is a beginning, or a glimmer of hope, for the Palestinian people,” Fawzi Nour al-Deen said Sunday as he held a bag on his head, joining thousands of people fleeing south from Gaza City. “We are a people who deserve to have a state.”