A number of European Union, Arab and Muslim countries have agreed that implementing the two-state solution is the only way for fair peace in the Middle East region, and peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares made the statement on Friday to reporters at the end of “Madrid meeting on the implementation of the two-state solution”.
Albares said the participating countries in the meeting want a sovereign Palestinian state and recognized borders including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Recognizing the Palestinian state is good but insufficient to end the war, he stated.
He urged the international community to take a decisive action against those who are trying to undermine the endeavors of the two-state solution, and expand violence.
He also appealed to the international community to be committed to international law, the UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice’s rulings, and to work for a ceasefi
re and peace.
The participants seek to push efforts to halt the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and to put an end to violence, he said.
The war must stop and there is no need for pretexts to expand the suffering of millions of innocent civilians, Albares said.
The participants in the meeting would work together to restore the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip and support its legitimacy after the end of the war, he elaborated, noting that this stage will be full of challenges and needs greater support.
He underlined that the Palestinian government has been – and would be – effective in Gaza, referring to a key role of this government in achieving stability in the Strip. The meeting contributes to backing coordination among the participating countries in preparation for the next meetings to be held by the end of this month, Albares said.
Albares is set to hold bilateral meetings with some of his peers later in the day to discuss issues of mutual interest and means of enhancing these ties.
It is the se
cond meeting hosted by Spain; the first one was held on May 29 one day after Madrid recognized Palestinian state concurrently with Norway and Ireland’s recognition. Today’s meeting included Arab League’s Secretary General Ahmad Abou-Gheit, EU High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and Security Policy, and head of Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Taha.
The gathering also featured Palestine’s Prime Minister Mohammad Moustafa, and Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Egypt, Bader Abdulatti, Turkiye, Hakan Fidan, and Ireland, Gerard Keown, as well as Undersecretary of Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Qatar’s Minister of State at Foreign Ministry Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulaziz, in addition to some representatives and officials from the OIC, EU and the Arab League.
Source: Kuwait News Agency