<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares proposed this Monday in New York a “period of between 12 and 15 months” for the recognition of the State of Palestine by countries that have not yet done so and for its inclusion in the United Nations as a full member.</strong></h4> “There is no reason to wait any longer. This is not about renegotiating parameters or entering into a kind of endless negotiation” because “everything has already been negotiated” by the parties and because UN resolutions already define what the future Palestinian state should look like, Albares declared at a press conference before speaking at the UN High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is necessary that "this diplomatic initiative have a clear timeline" and, therefore, set "a very short timeframe for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations alongside Israel and all of us." To this end, Albares has proposed "a period of between 12 and 15 months," a timeframe that, in his opinion, is "more than reasonable" for countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to do so. In this regard, the Foreign Minister recalled that 148 countries have already recognized the Palestinian State, including Spain (on May 28, 2024), and that France has already announced it will do so during the next UN General Assembly, in September. In fact, he stated, the countries that have not yet recognized Palestine are the "exception." Albares also warned that the UN General Assembly and member states should introduce "effective measures" to facilitate the implementation of the two-state solution "against all those who try to sabotage it," and recalled, in this regard, that Israel could use some "type of veto right" to prevent the process. After the press conference, the minister stated, during his speech at the session of one of the Conference's working groups (made up of Spain, Jordan, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, and Japan), that the two-state solution is "the only possible path to peace" and called for the "massive and unimpeded" entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the "key actors," the United Nations and the Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), in view of the "unbearable humanitarian catastrophe generated by Israel's military offensive." He also advocated for "the full normalization of relations with Israel" by the rest of the region and the recognition of the Palestinian Authority as "the only legitimate actor to assume the future governance of the Gaza Strip." At the same session, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the two-state solution is "further away than ever" and described as "unacceptable" the "unilateral actions that would forever undermine the two-state solution," such as Israel's "creeping annexation" of the West Bank and the "intolerable" destruction of the Gaza Strip. Likewise, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa warned that "all states have the responsibility to act now, to end the war against our people in Gaza and throughout the State of Palestine." He also praised French President Emmanuel Macron's "historic and courageous" decision to announce the upcoming recognition of the Palestinian state and called on "all those who have not yet done so to recognize the State of Palestine without delay."
