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Abbas orders to draft action plan on outcomes of UN conference on Palestine

RABAT, August 3. /TASS/. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave instructions to immediately draft an action plan on implementing the decisions of a high-level UN conference on Palestinian settlement, Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian was quoted as saying by the WAFA news agency.

She described the High-Level International Conference on the Two-State Solution, held in New York, as "politically meaningful and reflective of growing international alignment on the necessity of realizing a two-state solution."

In her words, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry will "lead the preparation of a comprehensive strategy to apply the conference’s recommendations on the ground."

"149 countries currently recognize the State of Palestine, with more expected to follow amid ongoing Palestinian diplomatic efforts," the minister added.

The High-Level International Conference on the Two-State Solution, initiated by Saudi Arabia and France, was held in New York on July 28-30. At least 17 countries, the European Union and the Arab League adopted a final document with proposals on resolving the Palestinian issue by implementing a series of political, economic, humanitarian and judicial measures.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

On March 18, the Israeli army resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, launching massive attacks on the Palestinian enclave and violating a ceasefire reached in January. During several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the parties to the conflict were unable to agree on the terms of a new agreement.