<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, called this Monday at the International Conference on Palestine, held in New York as part of the High-Level Week of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, for the Palestinian state to become a "full" member of the UN "as soon as possible" "on an equal footing with other states" and for "immediate measures to stop the barbarism and make peace possible" to be adopted.</strong></h4> “If recognition of the State of Palestine is urgent, it is even more urgent that there be a Palestinian people in the State we seek to recognize, and, unfortunately, the Palestinian people are being annihilated,” the Prime Minister warned at the beginning of his speech at the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held in the United Nations General Assembly Hall and co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. “Therefore, in the name of reason, in the name of international law, and in the name of human dignity, we must stop this massacre now,” he continued. “At this very moment, bombs continue to fall indiscriminately on the Gazan population, and hunger is killing women, the elderly, and children,” he denounced. “Today we are taking a crucial step by demanding the two-state solution at this conference, but let us be clear: there is no possible solution when the population of one of those two states is the victim of genocide,” he warned. “We all know that the only hope for civilians in Gaza is knowing that the world has not forgotten them, and this conference fuels that hope. It is an act of moral rebellion in the face of indifference and forgetfulness. Therefore, let us also make it a collective commitment to stop the barbarism and pave the way for peace. This conference marks a momentous milestone, but it is not the end of the journey; it is only, and must be, the beginning,” continued Pedro Sánchez. “Therefore, I want to make two proposals,” announced the Prime Minister. “The first is that the State of Palestine must be a full member of the United Nations. The process for the State of Palestine to join this organization must be completed as soon as possible on an equal footing with other states,” he stated. “Secondly, we must immediately adopt measures to stop the barbarism and make peace possible. Spain, of course, will adopt a plan with measures to stop the genocide in Gaza, and we will continue to take bold steps with those who want to join, because Gaza needs it,” he added. “Your Excellencies: history will judge us, and its verdict will be implacable with those who perpetrated this barbarity and with those who remained silent or looked the other way,” warned Pedro Sánchez. “Let us take the stand for rationality, for diplomacy, for respect for international law and international humanitarian law, for common sense, and for the most basic humanitarianism. Let us make this September 22nd a day remembered as the first great step. Today, more than ever, let injustice not be indifferent to us,” concluded Sánchez, who co-chaired, with the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, the Conference’s Working Group One, entitled “Sovereignty and Governance of the Palestinian State, Including the Unification of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” <h5><strong>France recognizes Palestine</strong></h5> At the beginning of the Conference, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country's decision to recognize the Palestinian state. "A historic responsibility weighs upon us," he declared. "We must do everything possible to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, living side by side, in peace and security. The time has come. Therefore, and true to France's historic commitment to peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians, I declare that France today recognizes the State of Palestine," he said. Following France, the governments of Australia, Portugal, Belgium, and Luxembourg, among others, also took this same step during the conference. Meanwhile, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, announced that if Israel recognizes Palestine, Indonesia will recognize Israel. During his address at the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed "the steps many Member States are taking to boost support for the two-state solution, including commitments to recognize the State of Palestine." "Let us be clear: statehood for the Palestinians is a right, not a reward, and denying them statehood would be a gift to extremists around the world. Without two states, there will be no peace in the Middle East, and radicalism will spread throughout the world," he warned. For his part, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke at the meeting via videoconference after the United States denied him an entry visa. In his speech, Abbas warned that the State of Palestine is the only party capable of assuming full responsibility for governance and security in Gaza, through a temporary administrative committee linked to the Palestinian government in the West Bank, with Arab and international support. “Hamas will have no role in the government, and both this organization and other factions must hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority, as we want a single unarmed state, with a single law and legitimate security forces,” Abbas stated, reiterating his condemnation of the crimes of the occupation, as well as the killing and kidnapping of civilians, including those committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023. He also demanded an end to annexation, settlements, settler violence, attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites, and the isolation policies in Jerusalem that entail settlement expansion. “We are against Israel’s rhetoric about Greater Israel, which represents a violation of international law and a direct threat to Arab national security and world peace,” the President of the State of Palestine asserted. “We urge Israel to immediately sit at the negotiating table to end this bloodshed,” Abbas continued, also addressing “the Israeli people”: “Our future and your future depend on peace, enough of violence and war.”
