Spain hosts high-level summit of EU, Muslim states to advance ‘two-state solution’

Several European countries, including Spain, officially recognized Palestinian statehood in late May  

News Desk - The Cradle 

Spain hosted on 13 September a high-level gathering of Muslim and European states aimed at discussing ways to end Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and formulate a timeline for the implementation of a two-state solution. 

“We meet to make another push for the end of the war in Gaza, for a way out of the unending spiral of violence between the Palestinians, the Israelis ... That way is clear. The implementation of the two-state solution is the only way,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters during the summit. 

Albares added that there was a “clear willingness” among those attending “to move on from words to actions and to make strides towards a clear schedule for the effective implementation” of a two-state solution, starting with full UN membership for Palestine. 

He said that Israel was not invited because it was “not part of the Contact Group,” adding, “We will be delighted to see Israel at any table where peace and the two-state solution are discussed.”

The meeting in Spain was attended by the foreign ministers of Spain and Slovenia, EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza, which includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkiye.

Representatives from Ireland were also present at the meeting, as well as Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

“The ministerial gathering will advance the discussion on the need to reinforce the engagement of the international community on peace and security in the Middle East, and the challenge to create an international consensus on a way forward based on the two-state solution,” Borrell’s office said in a statement. 

Spain was among several countries, including Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia, that recognized Palestine as a state in late May. 

The meeting in Spain came days after Palestine was seated for the first time among UN member states during the first session of the 79th General Assembly in New York. In May, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of reconsidering Palestine’s full membership. The resolution also granted Palestine additional participation rights.

Washington and Tel Aviv have consistently blocked any realization of Palestinian statehood. 

The US stance has long been that statehood for Palestine can only be achieved through a direct agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, maintaining that it would support the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a negotiated peace settlement. 

However, the Israeli Knesset passed a vote on 18 July, completely rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state, including statehood as part of a future peace agreement.

Months earlier, in April, the US vetoed a Security Council resolution on the recognition of Palestine as a full member state in the UN.

Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is considered illegal under international law. Since the territory was captured by Israel in 1967, illegal settlements have continued to expand. 

As EU, Arab, and Muslim leaders meet in Spain, a ceasefire and exchange deal in Gaza remains out of reach as Israel insists on keeping its troops at the Philadelphi corridor on the strip’s border with Egypt.