Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League threw their weight behind a seven-page text agreed at a United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

A UN conference aimed at reviving efforts toward a two-state solution in the Middle East drew to a close in New York on Tuesday with a call from 17 countries for an end to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and concrete steps to end the conflict.

They joined 14 other countries, including Britain and France, in signing a statement that also condemned the Oct 7 terror attacks and told Hamas to give up power. It is the first time Arab countries have condemned the group and demanded it play no part in the future governance of Palestine.