Overview

• The New York gathering, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia through July 30, aims to draft a roadmap balancing Palestinian state recognition with Israeli security guarantees and excluding Hamas from governance.
• The United States and Israel have boycotted the conference, criticizing it as counterproductive without firmer Palestinian commitments on condemning Hamas and releasing hostages.
• President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September and is using the meeting to enlist other countries in doing the same.
• Delegates will address Palestinian Authority reforms, the disarmament of Hamas, and conditions for Arab-Israeli normalization, though no new normalization accords are expected.
• The conference responds to the nearly two-year Gaza war and ongoing West Bank settlement expansion, which participants warn are deepening the humanitarian crisis and endangering the feasibility of a Palestinian state.