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The European Union's top diplomat warned Thursday that international commitments to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians are increasingly disconnected from conditions on the ground, citing continued strikes and humanitarian shortfalls in Gaza alongside violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the remarks at a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
While international backing for establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel remains broad, she said, developments in the region are moving the other way.
"The ambition of our global alliance and indeed the New York Declaration is increasingly at odds with the hard realities on the ground," Kallas said.
Kallas told the gathering that conditions in Gaza have improved only marginally despite a series of diplomatic initiatives. She said strikes are continuing, humanitarian needs remain acute, and many commitments have yet to produce tangible improvements for Palestinians in the territory.
Turning to the West Bank, Kallas pointed to continued violence and the expansion of settlements, which she said are undermining the viability of a two-state solution.
She called on countries involved in the process to close what she described as a widening gap between stated commitments, concrete actions and the situation on the ground.
Kallas said the Palestinian Authority has made progress on reforms despite what she called extremely difficult circumstances, and she stressed that those reforms should continue.
She said the EU supports preparations for Palestinian legislative elections and is working to support stability and economic sustainability in the West Bank, as well as early recovery efforts in Gaza.
The Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution was launched in September 2024 on the sidelines of that year's UN General Assembly, bringing together countries seeking to coordinate international support for a two-state framework.
It has since held several follow-up meetings, including sessions co-hosted by the EU, Norway and Saudi Arabia.
The New York Declaration referenced by Kallas is a subsequent international statement reaffirming support for a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict along those lines.
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