By UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (AfrikTimes) – France and Saudi Arabia will host dozens of world leaders on Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with several countries expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state — a move likely to spark sharp reactions from Israel and the United States.
The summit, while seen as a morale boost for Palestinians, is unlikely to bring immediate changes on the ground. Israel’s most right-wing government in history has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state as it presses ahead with its war against Hamas in Gaza. Decades of attempts to broker a two-state solution have stalled amid recurring cycles of violence.
Israel and the United States will boycott the event, which Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed as a “circus.”
On Sunday, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state. France and at least five other nations are expected to follow suit on Monday.
Not all European powers back the move. Italy called recognition “counterproductive,” while Germany argued it could undermine efforts to reach a negotiated peace with Israel.
A boy holds a Palestinian flag on top of a mound of rubble in the central Gaza Strip.
ISRAELI RESPONSE MAY INCLUDE WEST BANK ANNEXATION
Israeli officials have said possible responses could include annexing parts of the occupied West Bank and imposing bilateral measures against France, even though the recognitions are largely symbolic. But annexation risks alienating key partners, including the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel under the 2020 U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.
“Annexation is a red line for my government because it strikes at the very heart of what the Abraham Accords were meant to achieve,” said Lana Nusseibeh, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, in an interview with the BBC.
Norway — which recognised Palestine jointly with Spain and Ireland in 2024 — was more cautious. “Palestine is at a turning point, and we are at a crossroads,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said. “While international political support for a two-state solution has rarely been stronger, the situation on the ground is worse than ever.”
The U.S. administration has also warned of possible consequences for countries taking steps against Israel, including France, whose president Emmanuel Macron is co-hosting the New York summit.
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southwards after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 20, 2025.
The meeting comes ahead of the U.N. General Assembly and follows Israel’s launch of a long-threatened ground offensive on Gaza City, two years into a devastating war triggered by the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
FRANCE SAYS DECLARATION IS A REJECTION OF HAMAS
Amid Israel’s intensified offensive in Gaza and rising violence by settlers in the West Bank, France said there is growing urgency to act before the two-state solution disappears altogether.
“The decision that the President of the Republic will present this afternoon to the United Nations General Assembly is a symbolic, immediate, political decision that demonstrates France’s commitment to the two-state solution,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told TF1 television.
He added that recognising a Palestinian state was also “a rejection of Hamas” and a call to exclude the group from any future role in governing Gaza.
France has sought to give momentum to the recognition movement, with Macron’s July pledge to back Palestinian statehood encouraging a drive that had been led mainly by smaller, more critical nations of Israel. Some countries have attached conditions, saying full diplomatic normalisation would depend on reforms by the Palestinian Authority.
In Gaza, Palestinians continued to flee Israeli bombardments on Sunday. “Even if countries like Australia, Canada and France recognise Palestine, there will still be no serious pressure on Israel to grant Palestinians their rights,” said displaced resident Nabeel Jaber.
France and Saudi Arabia will convene dozens of world leaders on Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with several of them expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state – a move that could draw harsh Israeli and U.S. responses.
PALESTINIANS REFUSED VISAS TO U.S.
In Tel Aviv, Israelis voiced frustration at Palestinian leadership. “We’ve offered them peace about five times. They never chose peace. Why do we need to with people who kidnap, murder and rape?” said Tamara Raveh, a 25-year-old film student.
Israel has dismissed 89-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as incapable of delivering promised reforms. Abbas, denied a U.S. visa along with dozens of Palestinian officials, will address the summit by video.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite co-hosting the initiative with France, will also not attend in person. The General Assembly agreed on Friday — by consensus and without a vote — that he could appear virtually.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on a cease-fire vote in March 2024.
