What to expect, and what not to, at the UN meeting on Israel-Palestinian two-State solution
The two-state solution has wide international support. The logic behind it is that the population of Israel — along with east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza — is divided equally between Jews and Palestinians.
The establishment of an independent Palestine would leave Israel as a democratic country with a solid Jewish majority and grant the Palestinians their dream of self-determination.
Why hold a conference now?
France and Saudi Arabia have said they want to put a spotlight on the two-state solution as the only viable path to peace in the Middle East — and they want to see a road map with specific steps, first ending the war in Gaza.
The co-chairs said in a document sent to U.N. members in May that the primary goal of the meeting is to identify actions by 'all relevant actors' to implement the two-state solution — and 'to urgently mobilize the necessary efforts and resources to achieve this aim, through concrete and time-bound commitments.'
Saudi diplomat Manal Radwan, who led the country's delegation to the preparatory conference, said the meeting must 'chart a course for action, not reflection.' It must be 'anchored in a credible and irreversible political plan that addresses the root cause of the conflict and offers a real path to peace, dignity and mutual security,' she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution in parallel with a recognition of Israel's right to defend itself. He announced late Thursday that France will recognize the state of Palestine officially at the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in late September.
About 145 countries have recognized the state of Palestine. But Macron's announcement, ahead of Monday's meeting and amid increasing global anger over desperately hungry people in Gaza starting to die from starvation, makes France the most important Western power to do so.
What is Israel's view?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the two-state solution on both nationalistic and security grounds.
Netanyahu's religious and nationalist base views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people, while Israeli Jews overwhelmingly consider Jerusalem their eternal capital. The city's eastern side is home to Judaism's holiest site, along with major Christian and Muslim holy places.
Hard-line Israelis like Netanyahu believe the Palestinians don't want peace, citing the second Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s, and more recently the Hamas takeover of Gaza two years after Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005. The Hamas takeover led to five wars, including the current and ongoing 21-month conflict.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Despite pressure, Israel's military chief rejects Netanyahu's plans for Gaza occupation
Israel's military chief, Eyal Zamir, opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to expand the occupation operation in Gaza. Zamir feared that an operation like this would pose security risks to hostages still held captive in the region read more Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenent General Eyal Zamir, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 8, 2015. File Image / Israel Government Press Office Amid the tensions in West Asia, Israel's military chief is pushing back against the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over plans to expand military operations in Gaza. Three Israeli officials close to the matter told Reuters that the country's military leadership does not agree with Netanyahu's idea of seizing areas of Gaza that Israel doesn't already control. As per the report, the disagreement was more apparent during a three-hour meeting between the Israeli premier and the country's military on Tuesday. During the talks, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the country's military in the territory. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Zamir pointed out that recouping the territories which the Israeli military withdrew from could harm the hostages who are still being held in Gaza. Sources close to the matter told Reuters that Netanyahu was pushing for expansion into territories Israel's military withdrew from two decades ago. 75% of Gaza is already under Israeli control During the meeting, the Israeli military noted that it already controls 75 per cent of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began after Hamas' surprise attack on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In light of this, the Israeli officials opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there — policies advocated by some government members. The disagreement is coming at a time when Netanyahu is under immense international and domestic pressure to reach a ceasefire with Hamas and ensure the release of all hostages. Multiple aid groups also emphasised that starvation has struck Gaza amid the war. At the meeting, Netanyahu told Zamir that so far, the Israeli military had failed to bring about the release of hostages in the region. An official who asked to remain anonymous told Reuters that most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiation and not the Israeli military freeing them in Gaza. Amid the chaos, on Wednesday, Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved. Meanwhile, the prime minister's office confirmed that the meeting with Zamir took place on Tuesday but declined to comment further. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is now expected to discuss this plan with the war cabinet, which is mostly comprised of far-right leaders.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Is Gaza really starving to death? Israeli President slams Hamas' ‘lies' amid German media ‘expose'
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called out what he described as Hamas-led "staging efforts", citing recent investigative reports from leading German newspapers that revealed "fake" images from hunger-stricken Gaza. During a visit to Tallinn on Wednesday, Isaac Herzog held up two photos: one of Israeli hostage Eviatar David; and another of Rom Breslavsky, who appeared in a recent Hamas video. Herzog juxtaposed these with a now-controversial image from Gaza showing Palestinians holding empty pots in front of a food distribution center. He also showed a photograph wherein a photographer could be seen, what he said, "staging Gaza people to show that they are lacking food while there is food there behind them. This is a staging effort." "I highlighted the hypocrisy of Hamas' lies," Herzog said in a post on X. "I showed proof of Hamas' PR campaign, with a recently published staged photo of Gazans with empty food pots," he added. He accused the United Nations of "holding hundreds of trucks which it is failing to distribute." Herzog urged the international community to resist falling for such distortions. "We do not deny the humanitarian need in Gaza," he said, "but we ask the world not to fall for Hamas' lies. Condemn Hamas and tell them: You want to move forward? Release the hostages." He emphasized that Israel has drastically increased its humanitarian aid efforts, saying, 'In the last week alone, we've brought in 30,000 tons of aid -- 30 tons by air yesterday alone. The UN has almost 800 trucks they could distribute — and failed to do so. So a lot could have been done.' Isaac Herzog's remarks follow revelations from the Suddeutsche Zeitung, which published an "expose" showing how Hamas uses staged imagery to sway international opinion. There has been significant media attention over the last few days regarding reports by two German-language papers - BILD and Süddeutsche Zeitung - that accuse Gaza-based press photographers of staging photos of starving civilians. They highlighted "The issue of staged photos or photos taken out of context came," the Jerusalem Post reported. The BILD report focused on a widely circulated photo of desperate Gazan women and children empty holding pots and pans. According to the investigation, professional photographers -- some working with international news agencies -- were found directing civilians to pose with empty pots and in fabricated scenarios meant to convey starvation. "At least some of the images were presented in a false or misleading context," the paper concluded. One such photographer, identified by Bild as Anas Zayed Fatiyeh, was hired by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. The manipulation of war photography triggered alarm within Germany's press circles. The German Journalists' Association (DJV) issued a statement warning of "manipulation attempts through professionally produced press photography." DJV Chair Mika Beuster noted that "all parties involved in this war -- including media and intelligence services -- are using the power of imagery like never before to shape public perception." A historian and visual documentation expert interviewed by Suddeutsche Zeitung added that while not all such images are outright fakes, they are often "positioned a certain way or paired with misleading captions that tap into our visual memory and emotions." (With inputs from agencies)
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Everyone is along for the crypto ride now, even if it ends badly
The midsummer gathering in the White House complex would have been unthinkable last year. Dozens of executives from crypto firms, including Coinbase Global, Kraken, and Ripple Labs, on July 30 piled into the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, an ornate former library adorned with French and Italian marble panels. During President Joe Biden's administration, many—if not most—of the companies represented had either been sued by securities regulators or were under investigation. Now, members of President Donald Trump's cabinet and leadership team took turns extolling a newly released 160-page White House road map for embedding crypto into Americans' everyday lives. 'It's a pretty wild feeling to see so many people celebrating what this administration is doing, when 12 months ago the same individuals were in literal fear of these agencies," said one crypto executive who attended the White House event. 'We're winning." The Trump administration's about-face on crypto has led some mainstream financial institutions to embrace what was once a fringe investment. Banks that were all but prohibited by regulators from doing business with digital-asset firms are now being encouraged to dive in. Companies that securities regulators sued are now being courted to implant themselves into the systems Americans use to pay the mortgage or buy groceries. The last time crypto suffered a major crash—leading to the failure of crypto exchange FTX in 2022—there was virtually no effect on the economy or wider financial system. The next time, that's unlikely to be the case. 'All the guardrails are being removed at once," says Lee Reiners, a fellow at the Duke Financial Economics Center. 'There will be another downturn, and when it happens, the pain will be acute." Crypto prices have soared since Trump's election. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has risen 71% to $116,600, while Ether, the second-largest, is up 56%. The boost is also helping trading platforms like Coinbase, which is up 50% to $294 a share, and Robinhood Markets, which has more than tripled to $101. The Trump administration's regulatory shift has made some analysts ebullient. 'As Bitcoin believers, this gives us goosebumps seeing how far the space has come," wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analysts in July, pointing to a portion of the White House report. Crypto's power in Washington is new. Trump in his first term said crypto was 'based on thin air," and after leaving office in 2021 told Fox Business that it seemed 'like a scam." Those views changed abruptly in 2022, after Trump made millions of dollars off a type of crypto called nonfungible tokens. Those 'Trump Digital Trading Cards," which depicted the then-former president as a superhero, cowboy, and other characters, sold for $99 each. His family helped launch its own crypto businesses, including World Liberty Financial, which issues tokens and is creating a crypto borrowing and lending platform. The Trump Media and Technology Group, known by its ticker DJT, in August disclosed it owns $2 billion in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-tied securities. The Trump family is the company's largest shareholder. Industry executives promised Trump before the election that they could bring in millions of dollars in campaign donations, and Trump began to openly promote himself as the crypto president, making himself the first major-party nominee to take Bitcoin donations. The industry became one of the biggest spenders in the 2024 campaign, helping to elect not just Trump but also dozens of Republican and Democratic lawmakers who promised to push pro-industry regulations. The payoff has far exceeded expectations. Trump's Securities and Exchange Commission in the administration's opening weeks dropped cases and investigations against Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood, among others, for allegedly violating securities laws, which the companies had denied. Perhaps most remarkably, the SEC in May tried to reverse an injunction and reduce a penalty it had already won in court against Ripple for selling unregistered securities. The judge in that case rejected the move. But the Trump administration, with help from Congress, hasn't simply pulled back on Biden-era prosecutions. It's actively encouraging traditional financial institutions to become more involved in crypto. In April, banking regulators withdrew guidance issued under Biden that essentially required banks to seek permission before embarking on crypto-related business, like custodying digital assets. They also encouraged banks to do more business with digital-asset firms, which had said they'd been unfairly shut out of basic banking services during the Biden administration. Banks are moving quickly. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser on the company earnings calls in July said they're considering launching 'stablecoins," a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who in the past has called Bitcoin a 'Ponzi scheme," said he wants his bank to be 'a player." Some banks have begun to offer loans to customers using Bitcoin exchange-traded funds as collateral. The crypto push could get supercharged over the coming months. Trump in July signed into law a bill regulating stablecoins. The law requires the coins to be backed by safe assets such as Treasury bills, bank deposits, and money-market mutual funds. One concern is that the law gives the go-ahead for stablecoins to be widely used in payments, even though their recent history suggests they may be riskier than other payment methods, says Amanda Fischer, who served as chief of staff for Biden SEC Chair Gary Gensler. In 2023, the value of Circle Internet Group's USDC, the biggest U.S.-based stablecoin, dropped as low as 88 cents on the dollar on crypto exchanges after the company revealed that much of its reserves were locked up in Silicon Valley Bank, which failed that spring. The Biden administration agreed to bail out uninsured depositors, and the token recovered. The consequences could have been much more dire if Americans had widely used the coin for payments, says Fischer, who is now policy director at Better Markets, a group that advocates for tighter financial regulation. If someone had tried to use USDC to pay for groceries when it traded below $1, for example, the store would have had to decide whether to trust that they would eventually be able to redeem it at face value or to force the customer to take a haircut. 'If you run a local mom-and-pop convenience store, are you supposed to keep a currency conversion chart on the wall, depending on what stablecoin someone uses?" asks Fischer. If a stablecoin lost its value, 'there would be tremendous pressure on the government to bail it out." If stablecoins became large enough and destabilized, a run could even put pressure on Treasuries, as investors raced to cash out, Fischer says. Circle executives have said that though the price of USDC fell on exchanges during the 2023 episode, the company has never failed to redeem USDC for a dollar. Some financial experts have made the argument that regulators' attempts to discourage banks from doing business with digital-asset firms in itself caused the problem. After regulators' warnings, only a handful of banks were willing to accept crypto business, concentrating risk and making them susceptible to failure when the industry collapsed. The Trump administration has also begun to remove the Biden-era restraints keeping crypto out of many Americans' retirement savings accounts. In 2022, the Labor Department issued guidance warning companies that it would have 'serious concerns" about plans that offered investments tied to cryptocurrencies, suggesting it would breach companies' fiduciary duty. Trump's Labor Department rescinded that guidance in May. The next month, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte ordered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to study allowing crypto assets to count toward home borrowers' assets without having to convert them into cash. A group of Democratic senators wrote Pulte a letter arguing the move 'could pose risks to the stability of the housing market and the financial system." Though Fannie and Freddie consider other volatile assets, like stocks, in underwriting a mortgage, the senators argued that the cryptocurrency market's historic volatility and relative illiquidity, compared with the stock market, made it less likely that a borrower could quickly convert to cash at a good price to stave off a default. Some crypto skeptics say that the U.S. has seen such deregulatory pushes before, with dire consequences. In 2000, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. The law essentially prevented the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from overseeing over-the-counter derivatives, a move the White House supported to ensure that novel business remained in the U.S. Those derivatives, which included credit-default swaps, contributed significantly to the 2007-09 financial crisis. 'Crypto is sold as the future, but the policies backing it are in many ways taking us back to the past," says Brookings Institution fellow Tonantzin Carmona. 'We're embedding something that is poorly understood into our financial system." The blockchain industry's next target could be the stock market itself. The SEC says it's exploring ways to allow companies to quickly begin offering 'tokenized securities"—essentially stocks that trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on blockchains. Kraken in May said it would begin offering tokenized stocks of companies including Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia to investors outside the U.S. Coinbase has said the SEC should offer regulatory relief, allowing it and other exchanges to offer tokenized securities quickly. In addition to round-the-clock trading, crypto executives say the tokens would reduce trading costs and enable faster settlement. The request set off alarm bells at trade groups representing traditional finance firms, which said tokenized stocks could fragment the equities markets and circumvent securities rules that traditional players have to follow. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a trade group including broker-dealers and investment managers, said the crypto firms' moves raise 'fundamental questions as to how investors would be protected" in a letter to the SEC this summer. The Healthy Markets Association, a trade group including major investors such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System, compared exempting tokenized securities from some regulations to the lack of rules for equity derivatives that helped lead to the collapse of family office Archegos Capital Management and to the 'flash crash" in 2010, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 9% within minutes before recovering. 'It is ludicrous to have highly complex rules regulating order submissions, trade increments, fees, reporting, and more in one set of financial products, and then create a parallel universe to trade economically equivalent financial products without those same sets of protections for the integrity and stability of the markets," wrote Healthy Markets CEO Tyler Gellasch. A Kraken spokesperson said the company supported the SEC's efforts exploring tokenization. Industry executives and other supporters say crypto's risks to the financial system are overblown and that blockchain technology could bring Americans lower costs, greater convenience, and economic growth, as companies are encouraged to come to the U.S. rather than build in other countries. Coinbase in submissions to the SEC has said tokenization could lower transaction costs, increase transparency, and reduce trade-execution risk. 'If you look at every financial crisis we've experienced in the U.S. in recent memory, it's largely been caused by two things: leverage and opacity," says Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. 'Crypto has nothing to do with either of those things." Grewal notes that past crypto crashes have seen the value of Bitcoin and Ether drop by more than 80%. 'In each case, no government intervention was required. There was not a single bailout required by anybody," he says. The White House and some lawmakers also say that it is disingenuous to argue that putting in place crypto-specific regulations, where there previously had been none, will increase risks. One White House official in an interview with Barron's pointed to the stablecoin law. The official notes that issuers will now have to hold 1-to-1 backing, be subject to audits, and meet anti-money-laundering standards. 'A lot of the tech in this space is going to undergird what the new financial system looks like," the official says. 'What's the alternative? We just don't put in protections for consumers?" The Trump administration isn't nearly done with its pro-crypto push. The 160-page plan released at the White House event said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should consider guidance on how digital assets can be used as collateral for derivatives, and for the CFTC and SEC to consider regulatory sandboxes to let crypto firms test new products without being subject to the full weight of regulations. The day after the report's release, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said he'd launch an agencywide effort to 'enable America's financial markets to move on-chain." 'If you're tired of winning, hang in there, because we're not done winning yet," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the crypto executives. Write to Joe Light at
