The United Nations on Monday, as part of the events being held to mark for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 78th session this week, will hold a “Peace Day Effort for Middle East Peace.” The organization thinks that it can somehow work on Mid-East peace without Israeli participation. The event, which was organized by Saudi Arabia, the Arab League, and EU, with Jordan and Egyptian participation, will not include any Israeli or Palestinian officials as none were invited.
The event is being held as reports indicate that Israel and Saudi Arabia are engaged in behind the scenes talks on the normalization of diplomatic ties. The possibility of such normalization is said to be more likely than ever before.
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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated on the podcast Pod Save the World, said: “[It was] clear from what we hear from the Saudis that if this process is to move forward, the Palestinian piece is going to be very important.”
“Normalization cannot be a substitute for Israel and the Palestinians resolving their differences and having a much better future for Palestinians and in our judgement, of course, that must – needs to involve a two-state solution,” added Blinken.
The United Nations states that it “cooperates” with regional and international partners in efforts to defuse tensions, encourage improvements on the ground, and advance political negotiations toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
But last June, in a briefing given before the UN Security Council, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland made comments that made it clear he is not impartial and blames Israel for the continuation of the conflict.
“The deepening [Israeli] occupation,” he said, “settlement expansion, the high levels of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, and, critically, the absence of a political horizon are rapidly eroding hope among Palestinians and Israelis, and particularly among youth, that a resolution of the conflict is achievable. I urge all leaders to put on the brakes and rethink the options…We must urgently act collectively to stop the violence.”
The 78th UN General Assembly will take place September 18 to 26 in New York.
