Public service Switzerland takes part in Middle East conference in New York
Switzerland is taking part in the Middle East Conference in New York next week. Co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia and under the auspices of the UN, the conference will also seek ways to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
25.07.2025, 17:35
SDA
The Swiss delegation will be led by Ambassador Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), according to a statement issued by the Swiss government on Friday. To this end, she will be awarded the title of State Secretary.
The aim of the conference, which will take place from Monday to Wednesday, is to contribute to the implementation of the UN resolutions on the Palestinian question and the two-state solution in order to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. French President Emmanuel Macron only announced on Thursday evening that his country would recognize Palestine as a state.
Next week's Middle East conference in New York is based on a mandate from the UN General Assembly on September 19 of last year. It was planned for this June, but was postponed due to the escalating violence in the Middle East.
In favor of a two-state solution
By participating in the conference, Switzerland is reaffirming its intention to continue to work diplomatically for a lasting political settlement of the Middle East conflict based on the two-state solution and international law, according to a statement from Bern. Switzerland is convinced that this is the only solution that can guarantee peace, security and dignity for the Israeli and Palestinian populations.
The spiral of violence between Israel and the Palestinians began to spiral again after gunmen from the Islamist Hamas and other organizations from the Palestinian Gaza Strip carried out a massacre in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. They killed around 1,200 people, raped women and girls and abducted a good 250 hostages in the sealed-off coastal area.
In response and with the official aim of eliminating the terrorist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has regularly bombed the area, which is inhabited by around two million Palestinians, and has also occupied large parts of it in the meantime. Hamas speaks of over 50,000 casualties to date. It is not clear whether these are civilian victims or Hamas fighters.
