RIYADH

Saudi Arabia hosted in Riyadh on Wednesday the first meeting of a global alliance to push for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called the meeting “the first step among several steps with the participation of 90 countries."

He said the kingdom “will mobilize international public opinion against Israel's practices against the Palestinian people."

“The establishment of a Palestinian state is the kingdom's condition for moving forward with normalization with Israel,” he stressed.

The global coalition was launched by Saudi Arabia in September to push for a two-state solution to the decade-long conflict.

On Monday, the Palestinian Authority voiced hope that the meeting of the global coalition will reinforce efforts to end the Israeli occupation and establish a Palestinian state.

Israel has continued a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 43,100 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 101,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.