A new peace plan for Israel and Palestine was launched on Monday, during a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly currently taking place in New York, The New Arab reported.
The meeting was reportedly attended by “nearly 70 countries and international organizations, and included around 50 speakers.” I
According to The New Arab, the meeting was “co-chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan alongside Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League; Josep Borrell, EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Ayman Safadi, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Jordan and Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister.”
The meeting was reportedly finalized at producing a ‘Peace Supporting Package’, which “will maximize peace dividends for the Palestinians and Israelis once they reach a peace agreement.”
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During the meeting, Prince Faisal reiterated that there would be no solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict without an independent Palestinian state.
This stance had already been expressed by the Saudi foreign minister in comments broadcast by Saudi state television on Sunday.
“People have started losing hope in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine,” he said, “so the aim of our efforts is to return it to the forefront. The two-state solution must return to the forefront.”
“The occupation continues and with it come a number of complications and difficulties that lead the parties further away from a possible agreement,” a joint statement issued by Saudi Arabia, the EU, Egypt and Jordan read.
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“The situation on the ground is proving to be untenable and the status quo is becoming impossible to accept, all the more in an international situation plagued with conflicts,” the statement added.
“The need to revitalize a meaningful peace process to achieve the Two State Solution, in accordance with international law, UNSC resolutions, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the 2013 EU peace supporting offer cannot be overemphasized. The alternative is further deterioration that will threaten regional and international security,” the statement concluded.
Neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives were invited to the meeting.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
