NEW YORK – Kallas: Two-state solution endangered by reality in Gaza and the West Bank

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned that international commitments to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians are increasingly colliding with the reality on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the EEAS.

Kallas made the remarks during a ministerial meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held at United Nations headquarters in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week.

“The ambition of our global alliance and of the New York Declaration is increasingly at odds with the harsh realities on the ground,” Kallas said.

She said progress in Gaza remains extremely limited, with attacks continuing, humanitarian needs still enormous, and commitments made so far failing to deliver tangible improvements for Palestinians.

Kallas also warned about the situation in the West Bank, pointing to ongoing violence and the expansion of Israeli settlements, which she said are undermining the feasibility of the two-state solution.

The EU’s top diplomat urged the countries involved in the process to “close the gap” between their commitments, concrete actions, and the reality on the ground.

Kallas also noted that the Palestinian Authority has made progress on its reforms despite extremely difficult circumstances, stressing that those reforms must continue. She added that the EU supports preparations for Palestinian legislative elections and is working for economic stability and resilience in the West Bank, as well as early recovery in Gaza.

At the same meeting, the co-chairs of the Global Alliance declared that “the window is narrowing, but it is not closed,” reiterating their support for the two-state solution. In their statement, they voiced concern over settlement expansion, demolitions, threats of forced displacement, annexation, and settler violence in the West Bank.

The Alliance emphasized that the two-state solution remains the internationally supported path to realizing the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and to ensuring Israel’s long-term security and peace in the region.