May 29, 2024
JAKARTA – Indonesia and other members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have intensified their diplomacy to promote a two-state solution in the Middle East, appealing to European countries to push for a permanent ceasefire as well as to support Palestinian membership at the United Nations.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi told her European counterparts in Brussels, Belgium on Monday that “the only way to resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel is through a two-state solution” and that “the empowerment of the Palestinian Authority is key to ensuring lasting peace”, according to a press release from Retno’s office.
Retno, along with members of the OIC, were in Brussels for a ministerial meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia and Norway to discuss efforts to implement the two-state solution in the Middle East.
The two-state solution, which has a vision of creating the independent states of Israel and Palestine, has long been regarded as the sole peaceful solution to the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on numerous occasions has expressed his opposition to the two-state solution, calling it an “existential threat” to Israeli statehood.
The meeting in Brussels came just days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, which is home to over a million Palestinians and a key entry point for critical aid entering the enclave.
But Israeli forces continued to assault Rafah this week, with Tel Aviv showing little interest in deescalating its military reprise – much to the global community’s fury.
“This meeting is very important amid the increasingly deteriorating situation in Palestine and Israel’s increasing disregard for the ICJ decision,” Retno said in a Tuesday statement.
To the European countries, the OIC appealed for collective action “so that Israel can comply with the ICJ’s decision”, Retno said, emphasizing that countries must use their “respective influences” to ensure that there will not be any opposition toward a Palestinian UN membership at the UN Security Council.
The UNSC is slated to draft a legally binding resolution to ensure the implementation of the ICJ ruling, though many expect the United States, Israel’s top ally with a veto power at the council, to quash any resolution that could possibly injure Tel Aviv.
Retno said that she paid particular attention to the comments from the United Kingdom, Algeria, United Arab Emirates and Slovenia during the Brussels meeting, four attending countries which are also members of the UNSC.
According to Retno, all countries involved in the meeting were “committed” to realizing a two-state solution
On the sidelines of the Brussels meeting, Retno also met separately with a slew of top world diplomats, including European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, as well as her counterparts from Ireland, Spain and Norway – three countries which recently announced that they would recognize a Palestinian state.
Borrel wrote on X on Tuesday that the EU would step up its efforts to realize lasting peace in the Middle East.
“With our Arab partners we will work more closely on political solutions and regional peace,” he said.
“With Israel, the EU will convene an urgent Association Council to discuss the obligation to comply with the [ICJ] orders and [international humanitarian laws], transfer Palestinian Authority revenues and not undermine [the] UNRWA.”
He was referring to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, the primary aid provider for Palestinians in the enclave.