The UN can end the Middle East conflict by welcoming Palestine as a member

The UN can honor its 80th birthday in 2025 by granting the State of Palestine its 194th UN member state status, ensuring a long-lasting resolution to the Middle East conflict. The upcoming UN Conference on Palestine, set for June 2025, can be a turning point – a decisive, irreversible path towards peace in the Middle East. The Trump administration would greatly serve America’s interests, and the world’s, by championing the two-state solution and a comprehensive Middle East peace deal, at the gathering in New York in June.

Amid Israel’s shocking brutality in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, a small window of hope has nonetheless emerged. The two-state solution is regarded as the key to regional harmony in almost the entire world. &nbsp, As a result, a comprehensive deal is now within reach.

A potentially transformative resolution (PDF) was recently adopted by the UN General Assembly by a sizable margin. The UNGA demands an end to Israel’s illegal 1967 occupation and reaffirms its unwavering support for the two-state solution. Most importantly, the resolution laid&nbsp, out a roadmap for establishing a Palestinian state at The High-level International Conference (PDF), to be held in June 2025, at the United Nations.

Consider how long the Palestinians, and the world, have waited for this moment. The UN first assumed the role of addressing the Palestinian problem in 1947. The UN General Assembly recommended the creation of two independent states, one Jewish and one Arab, as part of Resolution 181 (PDF). The proposed partition, alas, was neither fair nor agreed upon by the parties. Despite making up 67 percent of the population, it gave the Palestinians 44 percent of the land. Yet before the plan could be revised and settled peacefully, Zionist terror groups began to ethnically cleanse more than 700, 000 Palestinians from their homes, the so-called Nakba, or catastrophe, of the Palestinian people.

After Israel declared its unilateral independence, and defeated the Arab neighbours in war, a senior UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, tried to resurrect the two-state solution. &nbsp, Yet Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi, a Zionist paramilitary organisation. Israel signed the 1949 Lausanne Protocol, resurrecting the two-state solution under UN auspices, but then blatantly disregarded it. Israel’s 75-year campaign to deny Palestinians their right to a homeland was what happened instead.

For decades, the US government, under the guidance of the Israel lobby, presided over a phoney negotiating process. These efforts allegedly involved direct bilateral discussions between an occupied nation and an occupied people, which were inherently unequal, with Israel’s goal always being to reject a truly Palestinian state. At best, Israel offered “Bantustans”, that is, little powerless enclaves of Palestinians living under Israel’s control. &nbsp, The US-dominated process has continued since the mid-1970s, including the 1978 Camp David Accords, 1991 Madrid Conference, 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, 2000 Camp David Summit, 2003 Quartet Roadmap for Peace, and 2007 Annapolis Conference. &nbsp, In this hall-of-mirrors process, the Israelis have continuously blocked a Palestinian state while the US “mediators” have continuously blamed the Palestinians for their intransigence.

The Trump administration could choose to change the game at the upcoming UN conference – in America’s interest, Israel’s long-term interest and security, and the interest of the Middle East and the world in peace. The US is, in fact, the only remaining veto against a Palestinian state. For peace or to establish a state in Palestine, Israel does not have a veto. That veto is only exercised in the US.

Yes, Prime Minister Netanyahu has ideas other than peace. By extending Israel’s territorial conquests, which now include both occupied Palestine and parts of Lebanon and a growing portion of Syria, he and his coalition are still fighting for a state of Palestine.

In the Middle East, a new US foreign policy is required that results in peace rather than an endless conflict. &nbsp, As mandated by the International Court of Justice, and as demonstrated through the General Assembly, G20 (PDF), BRICS (PDF), League of Arab States (PDF), the overwhelming majority of the world favours the two-state solution.

Therefore, the UN Conference on Palestine represents a crucial and crucial opportunity that could lead to a comprehensive Middle East peace, including seven interconnected measures:

1. An immediate UN-mandated ceasefire across all fronts of the conflict, including Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran, and the immediate release of hostages and prisoners of war across all entities.
2. The withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from 1967-occupied territories, the establishment of UN-mandated international forces, and the addition of security guarantees to protect all populations resulted in the admission of a sovereign State of Palestine as the 194th UN member state on June 4, 1967’s borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
3. Lebanon and Syria’s territorial integrity and stability are safeguarded, as are all non-state forces completely demilitarized, and all foreign armies have been withdrawn from their respective nations.
4. Iran’s adoption of a revised Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the lifting of all economic and other sanctions against Iran.
5. The termination, including defunding and disarmament of belligerent non-state entities, of all claims or states of belligerency, and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area, (without excluding the possibility of subsequent territorial adjustments, security arrangements, and cooperative forms of governance agreed by the sovereign parties).
6. establishing regional harmony and normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and all Arab and Islamic nations.
7. The creation of a sustainable development fund for the region’s reconstruction, economic recovery, and sustainable development

The chance for peace is now, after far too many decades of conflict and hostility. Our best chance and opportunity in decades is the UN’s efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace.

Source: Aljazeera