Saudi + France lead peace drive: The Kingdom and France co-hosted a UN ministerial conference in New York on Monday to rally international support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestanian conflict, the Saudi Gazette reported. The meeting — backed by 125 countries including 50 ministries — aimed to map out steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state and a long-term resolution to the conflict, despite the absence of Israel and the US.

Actionable blueprint: The conference put forth a 15-months roadmap to a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, including establishing a transitional government in Gaza under the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) supervision, full unification of Gaza and the West Bank, and a public Israeli commitment to the two-state solution. Services provided for Palestinian refugees by UNRWA will be handed out to the PA after a just resolution to the refugee crises.

Under the plan, Hamas will hand out all captives to Israel and its arms to the PA, effectively giving up Gaza rule, in accordance with a “one authority, one weapon” policy. The plan also pushes for the adoption of the Arab-led Gaza reconstruction plan, denouncing the use of starvation as a method of warfare by Israel.

The Kingdom’s position remains unchanged: Saudi won’t normalize ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan stated during the conference (watch, runtime: 8:30).

Train of recognition on the move: Just days after France announced it will formally recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly on 21 September, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a similar move if Israel fails to take “substantive” steps to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza (watch, runtime: 1:27).

ALSO- Interior Ministry Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud met with his French counterpart Bruno Retailleau in Paris, where the two signed a document to expand security cooperation between their ministries, Saudi Gazette reports. The agreement covers areas such as fighting organized crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering, and aims to boost technical cooperation.

The story also got ink in the Associated Press.

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