Switzerland cancels conference on occupied Palestinian territories due to 'lack of will'

Switzerland announced Thursday that it has cancelled a conference on the application of the Geneva Conventions to the occupied Palestinian territories due to a "lack of will," the Foreign Ministry said.

Bern invited 196 states to the conference, which was set to be held Friday, on the situation of civilians living in the Israeli occupied territories.

"After examining the state of registrations, the depositary (Switzerland) reaches the conclusion that there is no sufficient cross-regional critical mass supporting the text of the Final Draft Declaration," the ministry said in a notification to the state parties which was seen by Anadolu. "It thus infers that the High Contracting Parties lack the will necessary for the holding of the Conference, which will therefore not take place."

Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nicolas Bideau said on X that "due to the lack of consensus among the High Contracting Parties, Switzerland, as depositary State, has decided not to convene it (the meeting)."

Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraishi, cancelled a joint press conference with Bilal Ahmad, the permanent representative of Pakistan and the coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), planned ahead of the event.

According to a source close to the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the UN in Geneva, Palestine criticized the Swiss-circulated draft final declaration, arguing that it ignored key concerns raised throughout the process by the OIC.

The source told Anadolu that the omission of the International Court of Justice's provisional measures, ordered in response to grave breaches, was described as "striking and unacceptable."

While the reference to Israel's security needs was deemed misleading by Palestine, the declaration also failed to address Israel's ongoing annexation of Palestinian land and its illegal settlement campaign, nor did it reference the transfer of Israeli civilians into the occupied territory, the source added.

Ahmad in his response letter to the draft declaration, which seen by Anadolu, said: "The proposed draft Declaration does not reflect the gravity of the situation on the ground or the serious violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) committed by Israel in the OPT, nor does it address the issue of enforced displacement and forcible transfer in accordance with Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Israel had previously rejected the planned conference in a press release, describing it as "part of the legal warfare against Israel."