The pro-Palestinian bloc at the United Nations is intensifying its diplomatic push, with a series of coordinated initiatives over the next two weeks aimed at advancing Palestinian statehood and isolating Israel in international forums.
The campaign began Monday with a Security Council debate on an Algerian resolution demanding the immediate lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza and accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, calling it a “potential war crime.” The draft also condemns the humanitarian situation in the territory, criticizes Israel’s expanded military campaign and rejects “attempts at demographic or territorial changes in Gaza.” It does not mention Hamas or its role in the conflict.
The council is also expected to discuss Israel’s strike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders, at Algeria’s request. Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed Al Thani—who sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday—is scheduled to address the session.
The resolution, circulated in recent weeks, calls on Secretary-General António Guterres to report within 30 days on its implementation. The United States is expected to veto the measure, after which the Palestinians plan to bring the issue before the General Assembly.
Ahead of Thursday’s debate, all 15 council members, including the United States, issued a condemnation of the Doha strike. Following U.S. efforts behind the scenes, Israel was not mentioned directly in the statement.
On Friday, the General Assembly is set to consider a French-Saudi resolution endorsing the “New York Declaration,” the outcome of a July peace conference. That text condemns Hamas and refers to the Israeli hostages but also levels sharp criticism at Israel, accusing it of “forcible displacement” and territorial changes, denouncing military strikes that “caused a humanitarian disaster,” reaffirming UNRWA’s “vital role” and pledging continued funding. It also calls for a Palestinian “right of return,” an immediate halt to settlement activity and settler violence, regional normalization conditioned on a Palestinian state, and full UN membership for Palestine.
One clause urges changes to school curricula on both sides, praising Palestinian efforts to update textbooks while calling on Israel to “do the same.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to attend and deliver speeches at a follow-up peace conference on Sept. 22.
Israel is bracing for as many as 17 countries to announce recognition of a Palestinian state in the wake of the French-Saudi initiative, according to estimates in Jerusalem.
Further sessions are scheduled in the coming weeks, including an emergency General Assembly meeting following the expected U.S. veto of the Algerian resolution, a Sept. 23 Security Council debate on “Israeli aggression” with Guterres in attendance, and a Sept. 25 address by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who will speak by video after the U.S. denied him a visa.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon condemned the moves, saying the Palestinians had turned the UN into “a machine for producing anti-Israel resolutions.” He added: “They are not interested in peace or in the hostages, but in a political spectacle designed to create legitimacy for a terrorist state. Israel will expose the hypocrisy and remind the world of the Palestinian Authority’s culture of terror.”