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Lamola calls for more countries to ‘urgently’ recognise Palestinian statehood at UN conference

In a high-stakes UN conference, South Africa's Ronald Lamola urged nations to finally recognise a Palestinian state, arguing that it’s the only way to restore credibility to the beleaguered two-state solution while the world watches Gaza's humanitarian crisis unfold.
Lamola calls for more countries to ‘urgently’ recognise Palestinian statehood at UN conference
Victoria O’Regan
By Victoria O’Regan
30 Jul 2025
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International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has urged more countries to “urgently” recognise a Palestinian state at a United Nations (UN) conference this week that was devoted to a two-state solution. 

Speaking at the high-level conference in New York on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, Lamola said the recognition of Palestinian statehood was “fundamental to restoring the credibility of the two-state solution”. 

“Global attention is on this conference. There is an expectation that we will deliver an effective response to the destruction of an entire population and a peaceful path for preserving the prospect of a viable Palestinian state existing side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security. This expectation is not misplaced, and it could not be higher.

“Eighty years since the founding of the UN, this is a matter that has plagued our collective conscience. The solution lies with a tangible recommitment from all of us to the values that bind us,” said Lamola. 

Lamola was among dozens of high-level representatives who gathered at the UN this week to promote a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. 

The UN General Assembly decided in September last year that such a conference would be held in 2025, after it adopted a resolution related to the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  

The conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran. Both Israel and the US have boycotted the three-day meeting, chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. 

In a statement issued on Monday, the US State Department called the conference a “publicity stunt” that “will prolong the war”. 

The high-level meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, as starvation grips the region as a result of Israel’s restrictions on aid. 

Read more: ‘Widespread starvation’ — aid agencies warn of deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza

On Tuesday, the leading international authority on hunger crises said that the “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding in Gaza, and called for an urgent ceasefire to “alleviate the catastrophic suffering of people” in the region. 

“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths. The latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City,” read the alert from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). 

“This conference takes place at a time when we are witnessing the destruction of Gaza and its people in real time, in a brazen and wanton act of genocide in full view of the world,” said Lamola. 

“South Africa continues to condemn the horrific events of 7 October 2023 where innocent Israeli citizens were killed. Despite this challenging context, in which the international legal and multilateral system has been paralysed and turned into a blunt tool, the focus today on a real path to lasting peace must prevail.

“The might is right doctrine can no longer be justified. It has led to perpetual insecurity and it justifies an attempt to eradicate the Palestinian people through killing and starvation,” he said. 

Lamola added that South Africa hoped the conference would “plot a real path forward, based on concrete actions, for the creation of a Palestinian state existing peacefully and side by side with the state of Israel, along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

Recognition of a Palestinian state

The UN conference, which began on Monday, came days after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September. 

Macron made the announcement in a surprise statement on X, following months of hints and hesitations over potential French recognition of a Palestinian state, according to a report from The New York Times. 

Speaking to delegates in New York, Lamola welcomed France’s intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as “an important step towards achieving a two-state solution”. 

At the opening of the talks on Monday, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France was ready to fully recognise the state of Palestine at a time when the two-state solution is “more threatened than ever”. 

“Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative,” he said. According to a report from The Guardian, Barrot said that the UN conference would also serve as a platform for other European countries to recognise Palestinian statehood. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the UK followed France, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing that Britain would recognise the state of Palestine in September if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas. 

Read more: Many of my staff can’t work because they are starving, says Gaza City hospital director

Speaking at the UN on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK intended to recognise the state of Palestine when the UN General Assembly gathered in September. 

“We will do this unless the Israeli government acts to end the appalling situation in Gaza, ends its military campaign and commits to a long-term sustainable peace based on a two-state solution,” he said. DM

Comments (5)

Tim Gallagher Jul 30, 2025, 05:01 PM

Uk is just playing to the tune of "hear what they want hear"

Gregory Scott Jul 30, 2025, 05:19 PM

How can you in good conscience recognize a people (state) who sow chaos wherever they are in the world, with no Arab nation wanting to assist them and their open support of terrorism (Hamas). The SA Government (Lamola) needs to priorortise South Africans who are suffering from unemployment (35%?), malnutrition (hundreds of thousands), murders (60+ per day), rapes (100 per day?) violence, lack of service delivery. Stop jeopardising jobs and preaching diversification which you know nothing of.

John P Jul 30, 2025, 07:58 PM

So we must assume that you are comfortable with the actions of Netanyahu and the IDF in the Gaza strip? Bombing, shelling, starvation? Targeting of schools, hospitals and civilian apartment blocks? Yes, the SA government needs to look after SA first but about the only good thing they have done in 30 years is to take Israel to task on the Palestinian situation.

Dietmar Horn Jul 30, 2025, 07:55 PM

In a joint statement, several Arab states called for an end to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. Qatar and Egypt – mediators in the negotiations for a possible ceasefire in the Gaza war – also joined the document, which is to be published at the conclusion of a UN conference on the two-state solution in New York.

Dietmar Horn Jul 30, 2025, 09:58 PM

The seven-page document was signed by a total of 17 states and clearly sets out their common demands: "As part of ending the war in the Gaza Strip, Hamas must end its rule in the Gaza Strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority with international commitment and support." It also condemns the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7.

John P Jul 31, 2025, 08:13 AM

The end of Hamas rule would be a good thing however who will replace them?

Fanie Rajesh Ngabiso Aug 2, 2025, 01:00 PM

Ah so there is light at the end of your chosen tunnel. A nice surprise. To keep a poisonous snake on the basis of what might replace it is unknown. The only guarantee is that if you keep it, at some point you will die.

John P Aug 2, 2025, 03:01 PM

??

Dhasagan Pillay Aug 4, 2025, 02:35 PM

Terry Prachett once wrote in his book, The Carpet People, " They called themselves the Munrungs. It meant The People, or the True Human Beings. It's what most people call themselves, to begin with. And then one day the tribe meets some other people, and gives them a name like The Other People or, if it's not been a good day, The Enemy. If only they'd thing up a name like Some More True Human Beings, it'd save a lot of trouble later on."

William Grunow Aug 6, 2025, 03:16 PM

Perhaps South Africa would be more listened to in international affairs if it weren't so blatantly hypocritical. Take a strong stance against Israel on Gaza - that's fine, but then in the case of russia and China we close our eyes and "be neutral" - why would anyone take us seriously?