Norwegian Foreign Minister: growing impatience on behalf of Palestinians

Mr Eide led two meetings on Palestine in the margins of the UN General Assembly high-level week in New York.

The meetings showed that there is increasing consensus among world leaders that it is of the utmost importance to take steps to support the Palestinian Authority, strengthen Palestine’s economy and draw up concrete plans for what will need to be done in Gaza once a ceasefire is in place.

‘The situation in Palestine is worse than it has been for a very long time. However, we also see growing global consensus on what is needed: A viable Palestinian state is essential to realising a two-state solution, where Palestine and Israel live side by side in peace,’ said Mr Eide.

During the ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), the international donor group for Palestine, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa provided an overview of the Palestinian economic situation and outlined the reforms initiated by the Palestinian Authority to strengthen Palestinian institutions throughout Palestine.

‘The situation for the Palestinian economy is critical. We must do everything we can to ensure that Palestinian institutions can provide essential services to the people. I am pleased that there was broad agreement during the meetings to increase political and financial support to the Palestinian Authority,’ said Mr Eide.

Mr Eide also led a Ministerial meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal and EU High Representative Josep Borrell on establishing a global coalition for the implementation of the two-state solution. The meeting brought together 70 countries and was a follow-up to meetings co-chaired by Norway and Saudi Arabia over the past year in Oslo in December, Riyadh in April, Brussels in May, and Madrid in September.

‘For far too long, everyone has been speaking about the two-state solution as step that should be taken, but nothing concrete has been done to effectuate it. A large majority of the world’s countries support a Palestinian state, but progress is being undermined by Israel's occupation, the illegal settlements and ongoing acts of violence. I am very pleased that more countries are seeking to define more concretely what we can do together to move closer to this goal,’ said Mr Eide.

‘We must all be more impatient on behalf of the Palestinians. Multiple generations have grown up under occupation. The Palestinian people have the same right to self-determination as the people of any other nation. This is in line with a number of UN resolutions and with the recent advisory opinion of the UN International Court of Justice on 19 July. We are seeking a negotiated solution to bring an end to the conflict once and for all. The Palestinians should never have had to negotiate for fundamental rights. In light of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion establishing that the occupation is illegal and must cease, Israel can no longer have a veto over what happens in an area that they are occupying in violation of international law. Universal recognition and full membership of the UN for Palestine will place the parties on a more equal footing in future negotiations,’ said Mr Eide.

The Foreign Minister makes it clear that the political and security situations are closely interlinked.

‘The unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine has led to war and conflict throughout the Middle East for many decades. As long as the war in Gaza continues, tensions throughout the region will continue to rise. The Middle East needs diplomacy and political solutions, not more war, suffering and destruction. Norway and the other donors will continue to support the moderate forces in Palestine that are seeking to build a peaceful Palestinian state next to Israel,’ said Mr Eide.