NEW YORK/LONDON: Ahead of an international conference on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told reporters on Monday that the summit “does not promote a solution, but rather deepens the illusion.”
Formally titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the two-day event began on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France. With humanitarian experts warning that Gaza is on the brink of famine, the summit has been described as urgent and long overdue.
But Danon said: “Instead of demanding the release of the hostages and working to dismantle Hamas’ reign of terror, the conference organizers are engaging in discussions and plenaries that are disconnected from reality.”
Jonathan Harounoff, the international spokesperson for Israel’s mission at the UN, confirmed that his country would not participate in any conference that “doesn’t first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages.” The US also boycotted the event.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November in connection with its investigation into war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, said the international conference “rewards terrorism” and accused France of helping to legitimize what could become “an Iranian proxy state.”
