Postponement of the New York Conference on Gaza. Editorial Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Ebeid
Editorial
Postponement of the New York Conference on Gaza.
Editorial
Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Ebeid.
June 16, 2025
”Postponement of the New York Conference: Missed Opportunity or Reshaping Diplomacy?”
By: Editor-in-Chief
At a very sensitive moment in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the announcement of the postponement of the New York conference, which was to be held under the auspices of France and Saudi Arabia, came as a political blow to anyone who bet on coordinated international action to stop the aggression on Gaza and revive the political track of the Palestinian cause. While the conference seemed a possible gateway to form an international umbrella that would press for stopping the war and stabilizing a new political equation, the postponement opens the door to several complex repercussions at the international, regional, and Palestinian levels.
First: International Absence and the Erosion of Credibility
The conference was an ambitious attempt to break the paralysis in the UN Security Council and rehabilitate the Palestinian issue at the heart of the global agenda, amid the rise of other crises (Ukraine, Taiwan, Red Sea). However, its postponement confirms that the international community is still unable to produce decisive initiatives, and that Western political will is still confused in approaching the Palestinian file, especially in light of Israeli pressure, division within the European Union, and ambiguity in the American position.
This postponement not only reads as a transient diplomatic stance, but it also deepens the erosion of Palestinian confidence in international patronage. It perpetuates a growing sense that the world is complicit in its silence, or at least its impotence, in the face of a war that is draining Gaza and its people without a horizon.
Second: Time Lost in Israel’s Favor
In practice, the postponement serves the Israeli military machine, which is still pursuing its destructive strategy in the Strip, taking advantage of open time and a weak international climate. Tel Aviv interprets this diplomatic vacuum as an additional opportunity to complete its “military objectives,” in the absence of a time limit or real political pressure. The failure to hold the conference weakens the voices calling for a ceasefire. It gives the Israeli government more room for maneuver in the escalation of the Iran-Israel war and its repercussions.
Third: Confusion in Arab Coordination
Saudi Arabia, as one of the conference’s sponsors, sought to use this meeting to formulate a new political initiative that would re-engineer the political solution within a Western-backed regional vision. But the delay weakens this trend and embarrasses Riyadh in front of its regional allies, especially Egypt and Qatar, which are leading the mediation on the ground.
This means that the Arab movement will enter a phase of hesitation and division, weakening its influence vis-à-vis Israel and opening the way for unilateral moves or bilateral deals that go beyond the Palestinian and Arab consensus.
Fourth: The failure of the reconstruction file
The New York conference was to be a platform for launching preliminary understandings on the reconstruction of Gaza, linking them to political and economic guarantees. However, the postponement keeps this file at a very serious standstill, especially in light of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe and the almost complete collapse of infrastructure and basic services.
Without a political horizon or orderly international funding, Gaza will remain hostage to short-term emergency aid, while closing the doors to development and stability.
The postponement of the New York conference is not just a technical measure, but a political event that reveals the depth of the international crisis in addressing the significant Palestinian issue.
It is a wake-up call that conflict can no longer afford to be managed, and that any new postponement, if not invested in building a more coherent and equitable international vision, will translate on the ground into more destruction, bloodshed, and betrayal.
