Recognising Palestine a 'strategic necessity', Saudi Arabia tells UN

Saudi Arabia has called the recognition of the state of Palestine a "strategic necessity," stressing that such a step marks the beginning of lasting peace in the Middle East. The Kingdom’s comments came during a United Nations General Assembly meeting on Friday, held in preparation for a high-level international conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France next month.

The upcoming conference, scheduled for June 17 at the UN headquarters in New York, aims to accelerate the implementation of a two-state solution to end the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Speaking at the meeting, Manal Radwan, counsellor at Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry and co-chair of the event, said, "Regional peace begins with recognising the state of Palestine, not as a symbolic gesture, but as a strategic necessity".

She emphasised that a just resolution to the Palestinian issue was "not only a moral and legal imperative, but the cornerstone of a new regional order based on mutual recognition and coexistence".

Radwan also stressed the broader implications of such recognition, saying, "It is the only way to eliminate the space exploited by non-state actors and replace despair with a political horizon, grounded in rights and sovereignty, ensuring security and dignity for all".

The renewed push for recognition follows mounting international outrage over Israel’s intensified military campaign in Gaza, launched after the Hamas-led attack in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people. Since then, more than 53,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed.

Radwan described the situation in Gaza as one of "historic urgency" and said, "Despair grows deeper by the day, and yet, this is precisely why we must speak not only of ending the war, but of ending a conflict that has lasted for nearly eight decades".

She added that Saudi Arabia is committed to working alongside nations "to bring real, irreversible and transformative change, to ensure, once and for all, the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine".

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has also thrown his weight behind the effort, stating the purpose of the June conference is to build global consensus around the recognition of a Palestinian state. French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated that France may announce official recognition during the event, while the UK is said to be exploring a similar move.

The momentum has grown as several countries, including Ireland, Norway and Spain, recognised Palestine last year. Currently, 147 of the 193 UN member states formally recognise Palestine, which holds observer status at the UN but is not a full member.

Pressure is also mounting on Israel. This week, France, the UK and Canada jointly urged Israel to cease its offensive in Gaza and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. Despite this, Israel has escalated operations in Gaza with plans to seize control of the territory and limit aid access for months.

Anne-Claire Legendre, French presidential adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, said, "The June conference must mark a transformative milestone for the effective implementation of the two-state solution".

"We must move from the end of the war in Gaza to an end of the conflict. Faced with the facts on the ground, the prospects of a Palestinian state must be maintained, she added.