In addition to co-chairing Working Group Five on Humanitarian Action and Reconstruction in Gaza with our Egyptian colleagues, the UK is also looking forward to engaging across all the working groups.
I would like to set out three priority areas where the UK thinks this Conference can have real impact in moving us closer to achieving a Two-State Solution.
First, the Palestinian Authority. To achieve a sovereign and unified Palestinian State living in peace and security with Israel, we need to provide support to the Palestinian Authority so that it can effectively govern the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This includes financial and technical assistance, as it delivers vital reforms.
We should also explore how to strengthen support for Palestinian Authority fiscal and trade reforms, especially under the PA-EU reform framework, with the aim of restoring the Palestinian Authority’s economic viability.
Second, security. Through Working Group Two, we have an important opportunity to consider how we can ensure long-term security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
We should use this to build international consensus on the transitional security and governance arrangements for the future of Gaza, without Hamas, that can lay the ground for sustainable peace in the region.
Third, we should use the conference to consider concrete measures for safeguarding the Two-State Solution and upholding international law. This should include concrete measures to oppose illegal settlement activities and any attempts at annexation.
For its part, the UK has announced a series of sanctions targeting those responsible for supporting, inciting and promoting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
In addition to these three important themes, we must continue to press for an immediate and rapid increase in humanitarian aid delivery and distribution in Gaza. And we must also support the efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages, and achieve a long-term political solution.
This is the best and only way to ensure lasting prosperity and stability in the region.
