It is that France, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta and San Marino and other countries are also scheduled for the United Nations General Assembly to hold a high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the “Two-State Plan” on September 22, the same day or the day before, announcing the recognition of the Palestinian state. This will allow more than two-thirds of the UN member states now recognize the Palestinian state to further expand, and the overwhelming majority of the international community has formed.
The main force of this round of "recognition tide" comes precisely from the traditional allies of the United States who have been obstructing this process. On September 18, at the 10,000 th meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the United States once again used its veto power to block the adoption of a draft resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Of the 15 Council members, 14 voted in favour. There is a huge disparity of 14: 1. The position of the United States on the Gaza issue actually runs counter to that of the international community. The European allies of the United States have also begun to adjust their positions. The rift between the United States and Europe on the Palestinian-Israeli issue has become increasingly obvious.
For a long time, Western countries have often criticized Palestine and sympathized with Israel on the Israeli issue. However, with the outbreak of a new round of Israeli conflict, especially the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza region, European countries have increased significantly in concern for the Palestinian issue, and the calls for recognition of the Palestinian State have risen. Over the past two years, Western people’s sympathy for Palestine has gradually turned into massive social movements and public opinion, supporting Palestinian protests, demonstrations and rallies.
Traditionally, the international community believes that the Israeli conflict can be settled through dialogue under the mediation of the United States or other third parties, mediating sensitive issues such as the final status of Jerusalem, the land assignment of the West Bank, the relationship of the Gaza Strip with the West Bank, the settlement of Palestinian refugees and the distribution of water resources, to promote peace. However, in recent years, the foundations of the Palestinian peace have been continuously broken, and the United States has hardly seriously pushed for negotiations over the past decade. At the same time, Israel has continued to expand settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and has strengthened the occupation and control of the disputed areas through domestic legislation, compromising the space for Palestinians to survive. Consequently, rebuilding
“How many innocent lives are still to be killed in Gaza to a ceasefire? How many tragedies are still to happen and humanitarian supplies can flow unimpeded?” China’s standing UN representative Fujin’s “soul torture” as a mirror maps the brutal reality of the Gaza Strip. Since the outbreak of the conflict, Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 650,000 Palestinians, resulting in local famine, and 2 million residents are forced to displace. Israel’s regional policy is increasingly harsh, even in the face of third-party interference, less compromised, resulting in repeated ceasefire negotiations. On other hotspots, Israel has also launched more strikes, not only in Syria and Bahrain, but also directly fighting
The United States remains unilaterally committed to safeguarding Israel’s diplomatic, political and military interests. Israel may still adhere to a strong regional and foreign policy based on its own strategic and national interests. Western countries are still facing obstacles to form a real unity in recognizing the Palestinian State issue. However, in the long run, the Western shift represents the growing clarity of the international community’s position on the Palestinian issue. This shift will not only promote policy adjustments in international organizations and multilateral mechanisms, but will further consolidate the political principles of the “Two-State Plan” to provide a stronger legal basis and international public opinion support for recognizing the Palestinian State.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, giving the UN General Assembly an extraordinary significance. The high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on 22rd will provide an important platform for the international community to once again gather consensus. As a critical third party in the Palestinian issue, what the United States has done to seriously hinder the implementation of the call for international justice and the early implementation of a ceasefire. The strong consensus formed by the international community fully reflects that the “two-country plan” is not an option, but a must; not the future time, but the present time.
Source of this article by The Global Times.