Dozens of foreign ministers convened at the UN on Monday for a landmark conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aiming to establish an "irreversible pathway" to Palestinian statehood. The event proceeded despite a boycott by the U.S. and Israel, which denounced it as "a gift to Hamas." UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the summit by declaring it a "decisive turning point" to end Israel’s unlawful occupation, stressing that the two-state solution remains the only alternative to permanent apartheid or mass expulsion of Palestinians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot launched a global campaign for nations to recognize Palestine by September, when France will formalize its own recognition at the UN General Assembly. Barrot explicitly linked recognition to regional stability, demanding Arab states condemn Hamas and support its disarmament in parallel. This positions France as the first G7 nation to challenge Washington’s veto-based stranglehold on Palestinian self-determination.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa appealed for immediate recognition, noting that 147 UN members (75% of the international community) already acknowledge Palestinian statehood. His address highlighted Israel’s destruction of Gaza, where 60,000+ Palestinians have been killed and 1.7 million displaced, as evidence that occupation “vanishes the future of our children.” He rejected the U.S. claim that statehood should follow negotiations: “How can we negotiate when Israel bulldozers erase our villages daily?”.
The State Department defended its boycott, repeating the discredited claim that the conference “benefits Hamas” despite its focus on implementing International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings demanding Israel end its illegal occupation. The U.S. stance contradicts global sentiment, including recent sanctions by the UK, Canada, and Australia against Israeli settlers. With 149 nations backing a June UN ceasefire resolution opposed only by the U.S. and Israel, Washington’s isolation mirrors its 2011 veto of Palestinian UN membership, a move Human Rights Watch called “complicity in apartheid”.
The conference explicitly framed Palestinian statehood as correcting 75 years of Nakba (“catastrophe”); the ethnic cleansing of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister emphasized that peace requires ending Israel’s settlement enterprise, noting that 800,000 settlers now occupy stolen West Bank land. The proposed roadmap includes UN membership for Palestine based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as capital, withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territories, international security guarantees protecting both nations and regional normalization contingent on Palestinian sovereignty.
Israel’s UN mission claimed the conference ignored Hamas, a deliberate misrepresentation, as discussions required Palestinian compliance with non-violence frameworks. France clarified recognition would compel Palestine to adhere to international law, including disarmament clauses. Analysts noted the boycott reflects Netanyahu’s fear of diplomatic accountability: his government faces ICC arrest warrants for war crimes and recently annexed 1,200 West Bank acres during talks.
With Spain, Norway, and Ireland recognizing Palestine in 2024, and Malta and Belgium considering similar moves, France’s September pledge could trigger a domino effect. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hinted at shifting policy, stating recognition “advances justice.” The conference outcome document will pressure holdout nations to align with the ICJ’s ruling: Israel’s occupation has no legal validity.