by Ronald Toito’ona
For the last 20 years, the Solomon Islands’ position on the Israel-Palestine conflict is on the two-state solution, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele reaffirmed.
Speaking to Journalists in a press conference this week, Mr Manele said the country believes in the peaceful coexistence between the two groups.
He added, the difference is that over 142 countries support the two-state solution.
“But that is the end product, that’s the end of the line. But we have to work towards that,” the Prime Minister said.
He further explains that while some countries out of the 142, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom (UK) decided to give or grant recognition to the Palestine State, Solomon Islands have not reached that stage yet.
“We have not reached that stage yet because we believe there are a number of issues that have to be in place before we can consider recognition.
“For example, ceasefire, boundaries of Palestine, and safety of the humanitarian workers. So these are issues that we need to look into going forward.
“We have not granted that recognition yet,” Mr Manele clarified.
The Prime Minister described the Middle East situation as “a complicated issue” that has persisted for decades.
“The two-state solution is an issue that has been debated over a long time now, 20-plus years,” he said.
“There are three religions that are born out of Palestine and Israel—you have Judaism, Christianity and Islam—and they both have claims in there.”
Mr Manele said Solomon Islands remains hopeful that peace efforts will gain momentum, citing the US-led 20-point Gaza peace plan proposed under U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We hope that one day, probably through the current 20-point peace plan of President Trump, they can make some progress on this.
“We would like to see that one day they can peacefully coexist,” he said.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Solomon Islands maintains diplomatic relations with Israel and will continue to strengthen those ties.
“We recognize Israel. We have diplomatic relations with Israel and we send people to train there. And we’ll continue to maintain those relations with Israel,” he said.
However, he also spoke on the importance of maintaining balance in the country’s foreign policy approach.
“I believe it is also important for us to look at the other side and see how we can balance that equation in terms of our relations with other countries in the Middle East too, including the Gulf states,” Mr. Manele said.
He then reiterates that Solomon Islands’ position is anchored in the pursuit of peace and coexistence.
“Our view is for peaceful coexistence between and among the Palestinians and the Israelis so that they can live in peace together,” the Prime Minister said.
