In June, the arabian League, in cooperation with France, will organise an global conference dedicated to resolving the two-state Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This event, scheduled for June 17–20, aims to accelerate the implementation of earlier UN resolutions and to make conditions for the designation of the Palestinian State by subsequent countries. Faced with the escalation of force in the Gaza Strip and the expanding global pressure, this initiative is an effort to return to the thought of 2 states as the basis for lasting peace.
The concept of a two-state solution has its roots during the British mandate in Palestine. In 1937, the Peela Commission proposed the first plan to divide the territory into 2 states: judaic and Arab. However, Resolution 181 of the United Nations General Assembly of 1947 formally recommended the division of Palestine into 2 independent states and the establishment of Jerusalem as an global zone. This plan was accepted by the judaic community, but rejected by the Arabs, which led to the outbreak of the war in 1948 and the establishment of the State of Israel.
Over the next decades, various initiatives have been taken to implement the two-state concept. In 2000, U.S. president Bill Clinton presented the alleged Clinton Parameters, which assumed the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Although both sides expressed first interest, the negotiations failed. In 2002, the arabian League presented the arabian Peace Initiative, proposing normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for withdrawing from occupied areas and recognising the Palestinian state.
The situation in the region is presently tense. According to UN data, more than 300 Palestinians have been killed as a consequence of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the beginning of May 2025 and many have been injured. Hospitals are overloaded, and access to humanitarian aid is limited. In consequence to these events, during the arabian League summit in Baghdad, arabian leaders called for an immediate ceasefire and the start of the Gaza reconstruction process.
The planned conference aims not only to discuss the political aspects of the conflict, but besides to focus on economical and social issues that are crucial to stabilising the region. The Assistant Secretary-General of the arabian League, Hossam Zaki, expressed hope that at the conference any countries would decide to formally recognise the Palestinian State, which would be of major political importance.
Despite many initiatives, implementation of the two-state solution faces many obstacles. Israel continues to build settlements in Palestinian areas, which is seen as an obstacle to peace. In turn, interior divisions among Palestinians, especially between Fatah and Hamas, make it hard to make a common position. In addition, deficiency of trust between the parties and differences in perception of key issues specified as position Jerusalem or the right to return refugees complicate negotiations.
It is worth looking at the statements of Israeli politicians who undermine the existence of the Palestinian people and express hostility towards Palestinians.
Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli finance minister and leader of the spiritual organization Zionism, repeatedly questioned the existence of the Palestinian people. In March 2023, during a speech in Paris, he stated: “There is no specified thing as the Palestinian people. There's no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language.” Smotrich besides advocates expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Oren Hazan
Oren Hazan, a erstwhile associate of the Kneset of the Likud Party, is known for his controversial statements on Palestinians. In Kneset he stated: “There is no specified thing as a Palestinian nation. And there was never a Palestinian nation.” In another incidental he stopped the bus with the families of Palestinian prisoners, calling them “insects” and “dogs”.
Mose Ja’alon
Moshe Ja’alon, erstwhile Chief of the General Staff of the Defence Forces of Israel and Minister of Defence, compared the Palestinian threat to cancer in 2002: “Palestinian threat has cancer features that request to be cut out.” That same month, he said the Palestinians must realize that they are a defeated nation.
Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman, organization leader Our home of Israel and erstwhile Minister of Defence, is known for his hard rhetoric towards Palestinians. In 2018 he stated: “There are no innocent people in Gaza. They are all connected to Hamas.” In the past, he besides suggested sinking Palestinian prisoners in the Mediterranean.
Amichai Eliyahu
Amichai Eliyahu, Minister of Heritage, in November 2023 suggested the usage of atomic weapons in the Gaza Strip, saying it was “one of the options”. This message was condemned both in Israel and abroad.
Rehavam Ze’evi
Rehavam Ze’evi, a erstwhile tourism minister and Moledet organization leader, was a supporter of the forced resettlement of Palestinians. In 2001, he called illegal Palestinian workers in Israel “lice” and “cancer”, suggesting that Israel should get free of them.
But there are akin attitudes among Palestinians.
Mahmoud Abbas (President of the Palestinian Authority)
In August 2023, during a speech to Fatahu members, Abbas stated that Adolf Hitler killed Jews not due to anti-Semitism, but due to their “social role” as debt sharks. These statements were condemned by the United States, Germany and the European Union, which accused him of distorting past and promoting anti-Semitic stereotypes.
Fathi Hamad (Hamas)
In July 2019, Fathi Hamad, a associate of Hamas' political office, called on Palestinians around the planet to kill Jews, saying, “Kill the Jews wherever you find them”. His message was condemned by various organizations as calling for genocide.
Sheik Yunus al-Astal (Hamas)
In 2008, Sheik Yunus al-Astal, a associate of Hamas and the imam, stated that “the suffering by fire is the destiny of Jews in this and future world”, suggesting that the Holocaust will yet come.
Ahmad Bahr (Hamas)
In 2012, Ahmad Bahr, Vice-President of the Hamas Parliament, during a sermon broadcast by Al-Aqs TV, prayed for the demolition of Jews and their supporters: “About Allah, destruct Jews and their supporters. O Allah, number them 1 by 1 and kill them all, leaving not one.”
Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi (Hamas)
In 2003, Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi, 1 of the Hamas leaders, wrote in the Al-Risala paper that “it is no longer a secret that Zionists stood behind the murders of many Jews by the Nazis and agreed to this, in order to intimidate them and force them to emigrate to Palestine.”
