Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan urged the international community to maintain the “two-state solution” to ensure peace in the Middle East. Meanwhile, his Norwegian counterpart, Aspen Barth Eide, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Joint Security, Kaya Callas, saw that the establishment of a Palestinian state “is not an unattainable goal,” warning, along with dozens of senior officials in the world, of the dangers of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and the continuation of fighting in Gaza.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan chaired an expanded meeting with Eddy and Callas on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the eighty-first annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on Thursday, and stressed that “the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is an inherent right and a basis for peace, and not a final result to be negotiated within an elusive political process,” describing the implementation of the two-state solution as “the ideal solution to break the cycle of conflict and suffering.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France led the first international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the two-state solution in 2025, which led to growing international recognition of Palestine as a state. This momentum expanded this year with Britain and Canada joining the leadership of these efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state.
Settlement expansion is changing the West Bank
The Saudi Foreign Minister said that settlement expansion in the West Bank changes the reality on the ground, stressing that the Kingdom will continue to support a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. He pointed out that preserving the two-state solution “is not about maintaining a diplomatic slogan, but rather about preserving the possibility of building a different future, which is Palestine, a single, peaceful, sovereign state living side by side with Israel in security and stability along the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Faisal bin Farhan expressed the Kingdom’s aspiration for “a bright future in which the children of the Arab region will be seen growing up without inheriting the fears of their parents, and families of different religions and origins not only sharing the land, but sharing one future.”
The Norwegian Foreign Minister was speaking during a ministerial meeting of the Global Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution on the sidelines of the meetings of the 81st annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. He stressed that the Alliance already knows its destination, saying that “the primary goal of this global alliance is to implement the two-state solution.” We know exactly what the goal is. We do not need to discuss the goal, we need to discuss implementation.”
He stressed that the New York Declaration, the Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, and Security Council Resolution No. 2803 now constitute “a common reference point and a framework for achieving the right of the Palestinian people to establish a state.” But he warned that the conditions for establishing this state were fading. Therefore, “we must also ensure that the preconditions are not completely disappeared, making it impossible to build a two-state solution and a united Palestine. “This requires immediate action.” He explained that more than 90 countries work “on the basis of two states: Israel and Palestine, capable of living in peace with each other.”
Speaking in his national capacity, Eide identified four Norwegian priorities: First, the Oslo recognition of Palestine was intended to end what he described as the “effective veto” that arose from merely waiting for negotiations between the parties, as was the case during the Oslo process. He added: “This right has now been revoked.” Norway also prohibits trade with settlements, and distinguishes between Israel and Palestine “in accordance with international law, recent rulings of the International Court of Justice, and long-standing policies.”
Secondly, he stressed that a Palestinian state will not be established without effective national institutions. Norway provides financial support to the Palestinian government, and announced an increase in this support. A third called for progress on the next phase of the 20-item Gaza plan, including its path toward establishing a Palestinian state. Fourth, he identified that the region needs a more comprehensive security framework.
Callas: The visa ban did not prevent support
This is also what the High Representative of the European Union, Kaya Kallas, said, noting that 142 countries supported the New York Declaration a year ago as “a manifestation of the support of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world, not only for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, but also to provide the necessary means to achieve this.”
She pointed out that Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa was unable to attend in person due to the ban on American visas, so he joined via video. She stressed that his absence did not hide the political weight in the hall, saying: “If you look around you, you will see that the weight of the world is behind building a better future for the Palestinian people.” She praised the American and regional diplomatic efforts that resulted in the comprehensive Gaza plan that was later approved in Resolution 2803, and said that the Palestinian Authority had made “tangible progress in reform under extremely difficult circumstances.”
She added that the High Representative of the Peace Council in Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has made progress in working to disarm Hamas and Israeli withdrawal. She warned that “the ambition of our global coalition, and indeed the New York Declaration, is increasingly at odds with the difficult realities on the ground.” She added that in Gaza, “progress on the ground remains very limited.” The strikes continue, humanitarian needs are still urgent, and many commitments have not yet been translated into tangible improvements.” She also noted that in the West Bank, “ongoing violence, as well as settlement expansion, continue to undermine the two-state solution.” She continued, "Our mission today is not to reaffirm our support for the goal of this movement, but rather to bridge the gap between commitments, procedures, and reality on the ground, and move from simply maintaining the status quo to achieving it."
Callas indicated that the European Union is working to stabilize the economy of the West Bank, launch an early recovery process in Gaza through the “Gaza Team” initiative, and implement pilot projects in the fields of waste and water. It concluded that the coalition’s responsibility lies in proving that the coexistence of two states side by side “remains the best option for building a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Palestine and Israel, and for the entire region.”
Speakers at the session were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Ati, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez, Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrow, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Al-Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and others.
A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York raised questions due to the absence of members of the entire Iraqi delegation, one day after announcing the postponement of the completion of the arms control plan until June 2027.
A photo distributed by the Iraqi government's media office, on Wednesday evening, showed Al-Zaidi alone during the meeting attended by Trump and approved by senior officials in the US administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Besent.
Al-Zaidi's office said that he discussed with Trump the efforts made by Iraq and the United States of America to enhance regional and international security and stability.
The government did not provide any explanation regarding the absence of the Iraqi delegation, which included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Electricity, and other officials.
American discomfort
Iraqi commentators linked Al-Zaidi’s attendance at the meeting alone to American suspicions about the possibility of leaking discussions between the two presidents through members of the delegation who have political representation in the “Coordination Framework” coalition close to Iran.
An Iraqi politician close to the leadership of the “State Administration Coalition” said that the way the meeting was held “is an expression of American dissatisfaction, especially with Trump, regarding what appear to be faltering steps to confine arms to the state so far.”
According to official statements, September 30 will not be the date for completing the inventory of weapons in Iraq, but rather it will be the starting point for the start of a new process extending to June of next year.
It is clear that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who is visiting New York these days, was able to convince the Americans to obtain an additional period to limit the weapons, especially after the new date was adopted by the American envoy to Iraq, Tom Burke.
Salah Al-Arbawi, an independent Iraqi politician, said, “It is still too early to judge whether the timetable that will be announced at the end of the month will tip the balance in favor of any of the parties to the political conflict over the factions’ weapons.”
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Arbawi called on the Iraqi political forces to “deal with the arms issue rationally and calmly,” assuming that “Al-Zaidi has been able, at least so far, to reset the arms control plan after it faltered over the past weeks.”
“Relationship Engineering”
However, experts believe that the recent discussions about amending the arms control plan could turn into an opportunity to improve Iraqi-American relations. Researcher Abbas Abboud said that the Iraqi-American relationship is witnessing a re-engineering through the mission carried out by the US President’s envoy to Iraq, Tom Barrack, by adopting the Iraqi and Syrian files.
Abboud explained in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that “Iraqi relations with Washington’s allies in the region are now passing through the White House on the basis of Iraqi disengagement from Iran.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a direct warning to Baghdad, stressing the need to “disarm the militias to avoid the Balkanization of Iraq,” coinciding with growing pressure on the Iraqi government to confine weapons to the state.
Rubio affirmed the United States’ support for the government of Ali Faleh al-Zaidi in its efforts to consolidate state authority, stressing the need to dismantle the armed factions.
Rubio warned that the continuation of multiple centers of power may lead to the fragmentation of the Iraqi state and the weakening of its institutions.
The US Minister's statements coincide with the approaching end of the international coalition's mission in Iraq, and with Baghdad rearranging the timetable for the arms inventory process.
Al-Zaidi presented a plan that stipulates the beginning of a 90-day phase during which the factions stop carrying out attacks, and that the process of transferring weapons to the state is completed by June 30, 2027.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described what Israel is doing in the occupied territories as one of the most dangerous stages in the history of the Palestinian people, who will not leave their land and will not accept displacement, renewing his call on the international community to protect the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and implement the two-state solution.
The Palestinian President was delivering a video-recorded speech to world leaders gathered under the dome of the United Nations General Assembly in its 81st annual session due to the refusal of the administration of US President Donald Trump to grant him an entry visa to New York for the second year in a row. He said that the Palestinians “will not keep waiting,” stressing their refusal to let Israel determine their future, and that “no permanent security can be based on occupying another people and depriving them of their legitimate rights.”
Abbas added that the Palestinian national project is based on “protecting our people from displacement, preserving our land and its unity, and renewing our institutions democratically,” leading to the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, with the return of refugees in accordance with UN Resolution No. 194.
Abbas stressed that the Palestinians are seeking a political path that ends the occupation, and said: “We do not want a new process to manage the conflict while the land changes every day. We want a process that ends the occupation and guarantees the Palestinians freedom and self-determination, and the Israelis and the countries of the region security and peace.” He described the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as part of a single path aimed at pushing Palestinians to forcibly leave their land. He stressed that the danger “is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the embodiment of the Palestinian state, but rather it threatens the life and existence of the Palestinian people themselves on their homeland.”
He spoke about Gaza, where Palestinians face “killing, destruction, starvation, and attempts at displacement,” pointing to the destruction that affected neighborhoods, cities, camps, and educational, health, and religious institutions. He accused Israel of accelerating settlement activity in the West Bank, in parallel with the dismemberment of Palestinian lands and the escalation of settler attacks, in addition to the demolition of homes, incursions, and checkpoints.
Do not allow another Nakba
Abbas appealed to the international community: “Do not allow a catastrophe and other massacres such as those that occurred in 1948 to occur.” He also called for not allowing Palestinian homes to be burned or children to remain under fear and threat. He asked: “What is the international community waiting for to protect the Palestinian people, keep them on their land, end the Israeli occupation, and implement the two-state solution based on international legitimacy?”
Abbas also called for accelerating the implementation of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan, warning against turning the transitional phase into a permanent situation without a clear political and time horizon, stressing that the goal must be the reunification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under the jurisdiction of the State of Palestine and its legitimate institutions, according to the principle of “one state, one government, one law, and one legitimate weapon.”
President Abbas also warned against implementing the settlement plan in the area called “E1.” Because it threatens the geographical continuity of the Palestinian state, and isolates East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
He called on the Security Council to intervene and implement Resolution 2334, which demands the cessation of settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Revealing that the Israeli government is holding “more than six billion dollars of the Palestinian people’s money,” he called for its immediate release, regular and complete transfer, and the lifting of financial and economic restrictions, in accordance with the Paris Economic Protocol.
“We have accomplished the reform... and we want a state.”
On the other hand, Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority had fulfilled its obligations related to reform. He added: “We have completed the national reform program,” pointing to strengthening governance, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, establishing a unified national system for social protection, and continuing education reform and curriculum development in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNESCO).
He also pointed to steps in the field of democratic renewal and the empowerment of women and youth, saying that the Palestinians held local elections and elections for the General Union of Palestine Students, and that they are heading to the legislative elections on November 28, then completing the renewal of the institutions of the National Council and the presidential elections.
Abbas stressed that the Palestinians want a democratic state that respects human rights and the rule of law. He said: “We want a democratic Palestinian state that respects the rule of law and human rights, an unarmed state that lives in security and peace alongside the State of Israel.” He stressed that the Palestinians' vision for peace is based on the survival of the Palestinian people in their land, and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, which opens the way for regional cooperation and integration. He said, “Our vision for peace is clear: a Palestinian people remaining on their land, deciding their own future, and a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.” He also called for granting the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations, noting that 160 countries have recognized it, and calling on countries that have not yet recognized it to do so.
