Dubai: Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced a new international coalition aimed at establishing a Palestinian state, marking the Kingdom's most significant diplomatic effort yet to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution.
The initiative, unveiled by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a high-level meeting at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, brings together countries from the Arab, Islamic, and European worlds.
The coalition’s first meeting will take place in Riyadh and focus on the ongoing war in Gaza, humanitarian concerns, and Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state is a fundamental right for the Palestinian people and a necessary step for regional peace,” Prince Faisal said in a statement reported by the Saudi Press Agency.
He emphasised that the new coalition, named the "International Coalition for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution," will push for a resolution in line with the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The move comes as violence escalates in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes continue in response to attacks by Hamas, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Prince Faisal condemned what he called the "systematic destruction and forced displacement" of civilians in Gaza, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
“The right to self-defense does not justify the mass killing of civilians, the destruction of homes, or the use of starvation as a weapon of war,” he said, adding that the coalition would also address Israel’s actions in the West Bank, where tensions remain high.
