Recognition for Palestinian state seen as path to peace

A group of United Nations experts have called for global recognition of a Palestinian state, reiterating that a two-state solution remains the only internationally agreed path to lasting peace. Their appeal came as some countries expressed support for the latest US-initiated Gaza cease-fire plan.

Over a dozen UN experts — including UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese — issued a news release on Monday.

The statement said recognition of a Palestinian state "was an important acknowledgment of the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggles and suffering toward freedom and independence".

This is a precondition for lasting peace in Palestine and the entire Middle East — beginning with the immediate declaration of a ceasefire in Gaza and no further military incursions into Rafah, the experts said, noting that 146 UN member states now recognize the State of Palestine, Xinhua reported.

"A two-state solution remains the only internationally agreed path to peace and security for both Palestine and Israel and a way out of generational cycles of violence and resentment," said the UN experts.

Norway, Ireland and Spain made a coordinated announcement on May 22, declaring their recognition of Palestine as a state effective as of May 28.

Israel has continued with its offensive in Gaza, where Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday that 45 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Gaza media office announced that more than 3,500 children under the age of 5 in the Palestinian enclave were at risk of death, blaming Israel for its alleged starvation policy.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on Monday underscored the importance of dealing with the US-authored cease-fire proposal "seriously and positively" as they reiterated that achieving the two-state solution is the only way to ensure security and peace in the entire region.

Omar Awadallah, head of the UN organizations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, told China Daily that a multilateral world where countries can live together is becoming an example.

Awadallah said talks between Chinese and Arab leaders at the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing in May set a new example of a relationship based on a shared future.

International consensus

He noted that the international consensus on the Palestinian question is the two-state solution "based on international law, based on ending the Israeli occupation".

Bringing peace, stability, and security to the region needs one thing, Awadallah said. "That means the establishment and materializing the State of Palestine and the independence of Palestine, without the Israeli occupation based on the 1967 border, and with the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination."

On May 10, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution, which saw 143 votes in favor of the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member, with nine voting against, including the US and Israel, and 25 members abstaining, including the United Kingdom.

The US had vetoed a similar move at the UN Security Council on April 18.

In the latest US-backed peace proposal, President Joe Biden announced a three-phase plan between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday.

The offer calls for a cease-fire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel's continued offensives killed at least 36,550 people in Gaza, in response to Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported.

Four more hostages were declared dead by the Israeli military on Monday.

Hundreds of people, including relatives of the captives, gathered outside Israel's Defense Ministry and military headquarters in central Tel Aviv late on Monday, calling for a peace deal. Smaller protests also took place across the country.

Ayman Talal Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin in the West Bank, noted that the Biden administration's cease-fire proposal was also aimed "to neutralize the pressures being exercised internally on the Biden administration itself".

"There is a growing anger among many people within the Democratic Party regarding the policies and decisions taken by the Biden administration to resolve this conflict and to end atrocities and aggression exercised by Israel in Gaza," Yousef told China Daily.

"The US public opinion is also changing in favor of the Palestinian narrative," he said.

Yousef noted that those now speaking up in the US include "large segments of the public, mainly university students, intellectuals, media, and civil society organizations".

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.