Saudi Arabia hosts meeting to push two-state solution

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP

Saudi Arabia hosted the first meeting of the new “global alliance” for the establishment of a Palestinian state through a two-state solution.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the establishment of a Palestinian state remains a condition for normalising relations with Israel.

Through the initiative, Saudi Arabia “will mobilize international public opinion against Israel's practices against the Palestinian people," the foreign minister said.

He added, the meeting is ““the first step among several steps with the participation of 90 countries."

The global coalition was announced by Saudi Arabia in September during a ministerial meeting at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York to push for a two-state solution and put an end to the decades-long conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Prince Faisal urged all participants to utilize all their efforts to this goal, adding condemnations and partial solutions are no longer a viable option.  

Israel launched an assault on Gaza in October last year after 1200 Israelis were killed in a Hamas attack. The ongoing aggression has killed over 43,000 Palestinians and injured more than 100,000 others.

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