UK chairs first UN talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials since October 7

Wednesday 18 February 2026 - 14:20

By: Dakir Madiha

UK chairs first UN talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials since October 7

Foreign ministers gathered Wednesday at the United Nations for a Security Council ministerial session on the situation in Palestine, as international pressure mounts over recent Israeli measures expanding control in the occupied West Bank.

The meeting, chaired by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in her capacity as president of the Security Council for February, marks the first time Israeli and Palestinian officials have taken part in a UN forum together since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. The session comes a day before the inaugural Peace Council summit in Washington, where member states pledged more than $5 billion for Gaza reconstruction.

The talks unfold amid growing concern over Israeli policy in the West Bank. On February 8, Israel’s security cabinet approved steps extending administrative and executive control over areas traditionally under the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction under the Oslo Accords. On February 14, the government advanced a land registration process that Palestinian officials described as “de facto annexation.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the land registry initiative would promote what he called a revolution in settlement and governance across the territory. More than 80 UN member states have condemned the measures in a joint statement. UN Secretary General António Guterres warned they could lead to widespread dispossession of Palestinian land and potentially breach international law.

In a separate joint statement issued February 17, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates characterized Israel’s actions as a serious escalation aimed at accelerating settlement activity, land confiscation and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is among those attending Wednesday’s session. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Dar is expected to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2803, expanded humanitarian assistance and the swift launch of reconstruction efforts.

Resolution 2803, adopted in November 2025 with 13 votes in favor and abstentions by China and Russia, endorses a 20 point Gaza peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The resolution establishes an International Stabilization Force and sets out transitional governance arrangements through a Peace Council framework.

Dar is also expected to reiterate Pakistan’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre 1967 borders, with Al Qods Al Sharif as its capital.

The meeting takes place as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains severe despite a ceasefire that came into effect in October 2025. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 1,591 Palestinians have been killed and 1,578 injured since the ceasefire began. Aid organizations continue to report shortages of medical supplies and widespread hunger.

Cooper is expected to press for progress in implementing the Trump peace plan while urging greater international cooperation to address deteriorating conditions in the West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is attending both the Security Council session and Thursday’s Peace Council summit in Washington.