Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
September 22, 2025 Peace and security
On Monday, September 22, a world summit of heads of state and government, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, opens at the UN headquarters in New York. The main goal of this political forum is to try to revive the stalled solution to the creation of two states: Israeli and Palestinian, coexisting within secure and internationally recognized borders.
In April, speaking to the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres He warned that the Middle East peace process "is in danger of collapsing completely." He said the political will to achieve this goal "seems more distant than ever." However, in a recent conversation with reporters, the UN chief posed a rhetorical question: "Is there an alternative? A one-state solution in which the Palestinians are expelled or forced to live on their land without rights?"
The Secretary-General stressed that the international community's duty is to uphold the two-state solution and then create the conditions for its implementation.
Topic of discussion
The idea of two states – Jewish and Palestinian – living side by side in peace – arose even before the founding of the UN in 1945. Since then, it has been repeatedly revised and mentioned in dozens of Security Council resolutions, at various negotiating forums, and at the recently resumed tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly.
In 1947, Great Britain renounced its mandate for Palestine and referred the "Palestinian question" to the UN, which assumed responsibility for finding a just solution. The UN proposed dividing Palestine into two independent states—one Arab and one Jewish—and establishing Jerusalem as an international city. This proposal formed the basis for the two-state solution.
In 1991, a peace conference was held in Madrid with the aim of achieving a settlement through direct negotiations on two tracks: between Israel and the Arab States and between Israel and the Palestinians, based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords, which laid out the principles for further negotiations and provided for the establishment of temporary Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and Gaza. However, subsequent permanent status negotiations, held in 2000 at Camp David and in 2001 in Taba, proved fruitless.
Three decades after the Oslo Accords, the UN's core purpose remains the same: to support Palestinians and Israelis in achieving a settlement and ending the occupation, in accordance with UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements, to realize the vision of two states – Israel and an independent, democratic, viable and sovereign Palestinian state – living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders based on the 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
What to expect from the summit on September 22?
The summit is taking place on the first day of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week – the annual gathering of world leaders – against the backdrop of a deeply troubling regional situation: escalating Israeli military operations that have claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people in Gaza since October 7, 2023; an officially confirmed famine in northern Gaza; Israeli strikes against Hamas representatives in Qatar on September 9; and the accelerated expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Despite the tense situation, the two-state solution is once again gaining diplomatic traction. Ten days ago, on September 12, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the New York Declaration, which calls for "a just and lasting peace based on international law and a two-state solution." The declaration calls on Hamas to "cease its activities in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority." The United States and Israel, which boycotted the July conference, voted against the proposal.
On September 21, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada announced their recognition of the State of Palestine. Several other states had previously announced similar announcements. The summit's results could give new impetus to efforts to create a UN roadmap leading to the two-state solution.
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