Duterte maintains PHL support for two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

President Rodrigo Duterte has affirmed the Philippines’ commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict even as he sought to strengthen relations with Israel during his historic trip to the Middle Eastern nation.

Duterte, in a speech in Pasay City before departing for Israel on Sunday, said the Philippines shares with all nations the “desire for a stable and secure world.” 

“In our efforts to strengthen the bonds of friendship and amity with our partners around the world, we shall be guided by our Constitution and laws as well as our international commitments in support of efforts and initiatives, including the two-state solution, towards the attainment of just and lasting peace,” he said.

A two-state solution backed by major powers such as the European Union and China aims to create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. But negotiations for a deal fell through in 2014. 

United States President Donald Trump, meanwhile, stoked regional tensions when he recognized Jerusalem, a place sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, as Israel's capital and said that the US would move its embassy there in December last year.

Muslim-majority Palestine wants eastern Jerusalem as the capital of its future state.

Following Trump’s declaration, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution effectively urging the US to recall its decision.

The Philippines, along with 34 countries, abstained from the voting but said it supports the two-state solution.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said it was confident Duterte’s visit will not affect the Philippines’ relations with Arab nations hostile to Israel.

"We are aware of certain sensitivities," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella said at a press briefing in Malacañang last Thursday.

"But if you are asking is it going to pose a challenge, I believe not. I believe the President has proven in many, many ways, again and again, that it is possible to have this kind of independent foreign policy, [that] will satisfy the demands and needs of each particular relation."

Duterte began his visit to Israel on Sunday with a meeting with the Filipino community.

On Monday, he is expected to hold talks with his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center.

Duterte’s other engagements during his four-day visit include a meeting with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, an attendance at the signing of business agreements and visit to the Open Doors Monument in Jerusalem.

“My schedule will be full. I shall seek to reaffirm the ties between our peoples made more significant by a meaningful shared history,” he said.

“At the same time, I shall seek to have a robust relationship that looks forward to broader cooperation on a broad range of mutually important areas – defense and security, law enforcement, economic development, trade [and] investments and labor.”

Duterte is the first sitting Philippine leader to visit Israel, which hosts 28,000 Filipinos, since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1957.

After Israel, the President will fly to neighboring Jordan for a three-day visit which will be highlighted by a meeting with King Abdullah II.  —KBK, GMA News