Israeli foreign minister refuses to accept international mandates regarding the Palestinian matter, three decades after Oslo.

Israel’s foreign minister stated on Wednesday that Israel will not yield to external demands regarding its handling of the Palestinians. These remarks were made during a meeting with the Norwegian foreign minister, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Oslo peace accords.

The remarks by Foreign Minister Eli Cohen underscored the deterioration of Mideast peace efforts since the historic interim peace deal. Substantive negotiations have not taken place in years, and Israel is led by a far-right government opposed to Palestinian statehood.

According to a statement from his office, Cohen stated in his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister, Anniken Huitfeldt, that Israel will not accept outside instructions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Cohen told Huitfeldt that Israel will continue to work toward normalizing relations with other countries in the Middle East. Israel reached diplomatic accords with four Arab countries under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 and is now hoping to establish official ties with Saudi Arabia.

However, Cohen made a statement that seems to allude to the Palestinians, who have expressed disapproval of the Abraham Accords. He stated that any states or individuals who do not engage in the process of broadening and strengthening peace and normalization will be disregarded and lose significance.

Huitfeldt characterized her encounter with Cohen as “captivating.”

She conveyed her worries about Israeli settlements in the West Bank during her meeting with Cohen, as stated by her office. Additionally, they talked about the potential revival of Israeli-Palestinian discussions.

Exactly thirty years after the signing of an interim peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on the White House lawn, Cohen rejected any international involvement in the conflict.

The Oslo agreements, which were discreetly negotiated in Norway, aimed to facilitate the establishment of two separate states for Israel and the Palestinians.

“I cannot reword”

A handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, conducted under the beaming gaze of U.S. President Bill Clinton, marked the signing of the agreement, which created the Palestinian Authority and set up self-rule areas in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – areas captured by Israel in 1967 – for a future state.

Numerous attempts at peace negotiations throughout the years have consistently resulted in failure, and now, three decades later, the prospect of peace appears more remote than ever before.

Israel, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, has increased the building of settlements in the West Bank, an area that is currently occupied. Government officials have openly expressed their intention to fully annex this territory.

The West Bank is in the midst of the most violent stretch of Israel-Palestinian violence in nearly 20 years, while the Palestinian Authority is weak and unpopular. Meanwhile, the Hamas militant group, which opposes Israel’s existence, has controlled Gaza since taking control of the area from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Miller stated that due to the ongoing conflict, the attempts made by both parties to establish peace are not yet prepared for public presentation.