World leaders are arriving in New York for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, among them Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris.
The week’s events are expected to be dominated by discussion of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Today, a conference on the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine will take place, where more UN member states are due to recognise the State of Palestine.
High-level weeks kick off this morning with a UN Security Council meeting on the incursion of Russian fighter jets into Estonian airspace – putting the war in Ukraine at the top of the agenda.
Then, at this afternoon’s conference on the two-state solution, several European countries including France, Belgium, Malta and Luxembourg are set to recognise the state of Palestine, following yesterday’s declarations by the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal.
The United States and Israel firmly oppose the move, calling Palestinian recognition a reward for terror.
The US State Department denied visas to Palestinian delegates due to travel to New York, citing national security reasons.
The President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas will address the conference via a pre-recorded video.
Israel has said it has no confidence in the 89-year-old Palestinian president keeping pledges to reform and modernise as outlined in a letter to Macron earlier this year.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is not attending despite co-hosting the event.
“The world is saying out loud a Palestinian state and we need to materialise it. Now they need to show what these measures are,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said.
‘Outrageous’ and ‘extremely dangerous precedent’ – Tánaiste
Speaking to reporters on arrival in New York, the Tánaiste said it was “outrageous” that the Palestinian Authority were not allowed to attend and called it an “extraordinarily dangerous precedent”.
Israel and the United States will boycott the summit, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said, describing the event as a “circus”.
“We don’t think it’s helpful. We think it’s actually rewarding terrorism,” he said.
Israel is considering annexing part of the occupied West Bank as a possible response as well as specific bilateral measures against Paris, Israeli officials have said.
The US administration has also warned of possible consequences for those who take measures against Israel, including against France, whose president Emmanuel Macron is hosting the New York summit.
The summit, ahead of the general assembly, follows Israel’s launch of a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City and amid few prospects for a ceasefire two years after Palestinian Islamist militants Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the war in the Palestinian enclave.
In Gaza yesterday, Palestinians were fleeing Israeli attacks on Gaza City. There is a growing sense of urgency to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever.
Declaration towards two-state solution
The general assembly endorsed a seven-page declaration this month outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution, while also condemning Hamas and calling it to surrender and disarm.
Those efforts drew immediate rebukes from Israel and the United States, calling them harmful and a publicity stunt.
“The New York Declaration is not a vague promise for the distant future, but rather a roadmap that begins with the top priorities: a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
“Once the ceasefire and release of hostages are achieved, the next step is a plan for the day after, which will be on the agenda for Monday’s discussions.”
France has driven the move, hoping that Mr Macron’s announcement in July that he would recognise a Palestinian state would give greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.
Some have said there would be conditions and others have said normalisation of diplomatic ties would be phased and dependent on how the Palestinian Authority advances in its promises to reform.
