Saudi Arabia hosts meeting of new group pushing for Palestinian state

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday hosted the first meeting of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Unveiled last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the “International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution” brings together nations from the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said nearly 90 “states and international organisations” were taking part in the two-day meeting in Riyadh.

“A genocide is happening with the goal of evicting the Palestinian people from their land, which Saudi Arabia rejects,” he said, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and denouncing the “complete blockade” of northern Gaza.

The Riyadh meeting was expected to focus on humanitarian access, the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees and measures to advance a two-state solution, diplomats said. The European Union was set to be represented by Sven Koopmans, the special representative for the Middle East peace process, diplomats said.

The United States, Israel´s top military backer, sent Hady Amr, the State Department´s special representative for Palestinian affairs. The Gaza war has revived talk of a “two-state solution” in which Israeli and Palestinian states would live in peace side by side, though analysts say the goal seems more unattainable than ever. The hard-right Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains implacably opposed to Palestinian statehood.