ATHENS

Only a two-state solution can bring real peace to the longstanding Israeli-Palestine conflict, said Norway’s foreign minister on Wednesday.

In opening remarks at a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, Espen Barth Eide stressed that a Gaza Strip cease-fire, currently expected to be finalized and officially announced soon, is only the beginning.

The international community must determine “how do we go from there to something that can bring real peace to the people of Palestine, that their inalienable right of self-determination and of choosing and running the truth in government and running their own countries will become to fruition, but also the quest of the people of Israel ... to be able to be live with peace with their Palestinian neighbors, and also, finally, to be embedded in the region through normalization with important neighboring and regional actors,” he said.

Eide added that Palestinians should be supported to have a stable, prosperous functioning and united administration, which is the purpose of the conference and the today’s meeting.

“The expectation of the international community, as I see it, is that Israel understands that it's time to move on and to help solve the long outstanding issue of Palestine, and of course, that our friends in Palestine also work effectively together to build a strong government and a strong capacity that all the territory, all the Palestinian territories, are united, so that both sides have a good partner in building peace,” he said.

He also underlined the how vital UNRWA, represented by its commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini at the conference, for the Palestinians.

Also speaking at the meeting, Lazzarini called on the international community to increase financial, diplomatic and political support to UNRWA, describing the agency a “lifeline for Palestinians.”

He also particularly thanked to Norway for the strong and constant support to UNRWA and being one of the driving forces to achieve a long-lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, based on the two-state solution.

The gathering in the capital Oslo is the alliance’s third follow-up meeting since it was launched last September, following meetings in the Saudi capital Riyadh and Brussels.

The conference comes amid the Israeli army's continued genocidal war on Gaza that has killed some 46,600 people, most of them women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The International Criminal Court in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.​​​​​​​