20-05-2025
Fifth Global Alliance Meeting for Two-State Solution Opens in Rabat
Doha – The 5th meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution opened Tuesday in Rabat, under the theme 'Maintaining the Momentum of the Peace Process: Lessons Learned, Achievements and Perspectives.'
The event, organized by Morocco in partnership with the Netherlands, brings together delegations representing more than 50 countries and international organizations committed to the two-state solution.
The meeting aims to assess ongoing peace efforts in the Middle East, highlight achievements, and draw appropriate lessons to establish concrete measures with a specific timeline to revitalize the two-state solution. Participants will also discuss ways to build the Palestinian economy.
The gathering will feature three thematic sessions focusing on the impact of peace processes in the Middle East, efforts to support Palestinian state governance structures, and the economic foundations for peace in the region.
The meeting seeks to create a platform for projects, initiatives, and achievements supporting the prospect of lasting peace in the Middle East. It will conclude with concrete policy recommendations to support diplomatic efforts and strengthen conditions conducive to achieving the two-state solution.
Outcomes from this meeting will contribute to the High-Level Conference for the Two-State Solution, scheduled at the United Nations headquarters in New York in June.
Launched during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in September 2024, the Global Alliance serves as a diplomatic platform dedicated to effectively reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. This fifth meeting follows four others previously held in Riyadh, Brussels, Oslo, and Cairo.
What is the two-state solution?
The two-state solution refers to a proposed framework for establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. The aim is to fulfill the Palestinian right to self-determination while ensuring Israel's security and sovereignty.
The first proposal for establishing side-by-side states emerged prior to Israel's creation in 1948. The year before, the United Nations passed Resolution 181 outlining a partition plan that would split the British-controlled Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.
The UN's partition plan imposed borders that disregarded the will of the Palestinian people and never reflected realities on the ground. Following Israel's unilateral declaration of independence in 1948, neighboring Arab states intervened in response to settler colonialism and forced displacement.
More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee their homes during the Nakba ('catastrophe'), seeking refuge in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring Arab countries — an unresolved trauma that continues to define the Palestinian national struggle.
In recent decades, there have been many different views on what shape a Palestinian state should take. The 1949 'green line' was seen by many as the most realistic border for the respective states.
This line was drawn during the armistice agreements between Israel and its neighbors following the 1948 war and is the current boundary between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza.
However, following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank and Gaza, along with East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Most current discussions of the two-state solution now refer to creating two states along 'the pre-1967 borders.'
This would mean the new Palestinian state would consist of the West Bank prior to Israeli settlement, and Gaza. How Jerusalem would be split, if at all, has been a significant point of contention in this plan.
Morocco's approach
Morocco considers the two-state solution as essential for regional stability. The country, through its historical responsibility and presidency of the Al-Quds Committee, views the two-state solution as the cornerstone for ensuring security and stability in the region.
The Moroccan approach to the Global Alliance for implementing the two-state solution rests on three main axes. The first involves drawing from past successes to converge toward a promising future. The second aims to strengthen institutional support for the Palestinian National Authority. The third focuses on anchoring the economic dimension in the peace process.
Morocco believes the Global Alliance can contribute to promising initiatives capable of breathing new life into peace efforts by proposing concrete measures and tangible actions to advance the political process.
Such efforts, the North African country argues, are essential to creating the diplomatic momentum needed to establish the two-state solution as the only path toward a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace for the Palestinian cause. Tags: Israel-Palestine conflictMorocco and Palestinetwo-state solution
