UN conference on Palestinian state postponed because of Middle East tensions
PARIS (AP) — A top-level U.N. conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.
France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the U.N. General Assembly in New York on June 17-20, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. The Palestinian Authority hoped the conference would revive the long-defunct peace process.
Macron expressed his 'determination to recognize the state of Palestine' at some point, despite the postponement. France has pushed for a broader movement toward recognizing a Palestinian state in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.
After Israel's strikes on Iran on Friday, Macron said that France's military forces around the Middle East are ready to help protect partners in the region, including Israel, but wouldn't take part in any attacks on Iran.
Macron told reporters that the two-state conference was postponed for logistical and security reasons, and because some Palestinian representatives couldn't come to the event. He insisted that it would be held 'as soon as possible' and that he was in discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a new date.
'The aim is a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizing the existence and the security of Israel,' Macron said. Any such state would exclude any Hamas leaders, he said.
Macron said that the Israel-Iran conflict, the war in Gaza and the situation for Palestinians around the region are all 'interlinked.'
Macron spoke on Friday with 10 world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, about the Israeli strikes on Iran and consequences.
One of the aims at the U.N. conference was to increase the number of countries recognizing Palestinian territories as an independent state. So far, more than 145 of the 193 U.N. member nations have done so. The Palestinians view their state as encompassing Gaza and the West Bank with east Jerusalem as the capital.
Netanyahu has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state, and Israel refused to participate in the conference.
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Anger and worry mix in Iran's capital after retaliatory strikes against Israel
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San Francisco Chronicle
9 minutes ago
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Anger and worry mix in Iran's capital after retaliatory strikes against Israel
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10 minutes ago
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US ground-based air defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official. The latest strikes raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region into even greater upheaval. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. But developments triggered by Hamas's October 7 2023 attack — plus the re-election of US President Donald Trump — created conditions that allowed Israel to follow through on its threats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the UN's atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Middle East, a key global aviation route, but Jordan's state-run Petra news agent said the country was reopening its air space to civilian aircraft on Saturday morning, signalling it believes there is no immediate danger. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles south east of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan and destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility had been destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said. Mr Netanyahu said the attack was months in the making and had been planned for April before being postponed. Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among those killed were five of Iran's military leaders: General Mohammad Bagheri, who oversaw the entire armed forces; General Hossein Salami, who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard; General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme; General Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy of intelligence for the armed forces' general staff; and General Mehdi Rabbani, the deputy of operations.
