French officials were hoping to use the gathering in New York to re-engage regional actors in diplomacy.
PARIS — A United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians is being postponed for “logistical and security reasons” after Israel’s strikes against Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.
“This delay does not call into question our determination to move forward with the implementation of the two-state solution, whatever the circumstances,” Macron, whose country is co-organizing the conference with Saudi Arabia, told reporters at a news conference.
Macron said that a new date would be set in the coming days.
Four officials and diplomats from Europe and the United Kingdom told POLITICO before Macron’s announcement that a postponement was likely in the wake of the Thursday night attack, which has pushed Middle East to the on the brink of a catastrophic conflict.
One European diplomat, who, like others quoted in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss the matter, said the meeting was had become “collateral damage” of the Israeli strikes that targeted Iranian nuclear sites and top-ranking officials.
The United States was reportedly urging allies not to take part in the event, arguing it would reward Hamas for spearheading the Oct. 7 terror attack that sparked the current crisis in Gaza, Reuters reported, citing a leaked diplomatic cable.
Neither Macron’s office nor the U.S. Embassy in Paris immediately responded to a request for comment.
France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, has long had close ties to Israel, though the personal relationship between Macron and Benjamin Netanyahu has soured over the Israeli leader’s hawkish approach to the war in Gaza and Israel’s conflicts with Iran and Hezbollah.
While Macron said France did not support the strikes against Iran, he said the country would defend Israel in case of an attack from Iran “if it were in a position to do so.” France was one of several states to offer Israel military support when it came under Iranian ballistic missile fire in October.
Macron’s team hoped that the June conference would see European states officially recognize Palestinian statehood and some Middle Eastern states move towards normalizing relations with Israel. However, Paris has already been forced to temper its expectations for the conference due to the outrage over the humanitarian catastrophe playing out in Gaza.
Macron had tried to lobby European states to recognize a Palestinian state jointly — something he said he would do in April under certain conditions — but no breakthrough followed.
“Our willingness clearly is to trigger political process to bring with us several countries from our continent and other continents to recognize the Palestinian statehood with us, and to have a step by step approach towards a full-fledged recognition,” Macron said Friday.
One U.K. government figure said there had been “considerable uncertainty about what [France] was playing at,” and posited that Macron “has his eye on grandeur and legacy.”
Britain planned to attend the conference and host a working group on the first day, but said recognition could only happen when a two-state solution is viable on the ground. Even before Israel’s attack, the U.K. was still undecided on who to send, weighing whether to send a junior minister or unelected officials.
Richard Gowan, director of U.N. diplomacy for the International Crisis Group, said the smart betting in diplomatic circles was “that France will announce that it will recognize Palestine, but only when certain conditions — like a governance overhaul at the Palestinian Authority and more Arab countries recognizing Israel — are met.”
Esther Webber contributed reporting.
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Major two-state solution conference postponed after Israeli strikes on Iran – politico.eu
