The Friday meeting, hosted by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, will be attended by his European counterparts, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza, Reuters reports.
Muslim and European foreign ministers are set to convene in Madrid to discuss the implementation of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a joint announcement from Spain and Norway.
The Friday meeting, hosted by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, will be attended by his European counterparts, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza, Reuters reports.
The two-state solution, rooted in the 1991 Madrid Conference and the 1993-95 Oslo Accords, has long been viewed by the international community as the best resolution to the long-standing conflict.
Despite this, the peace process has remained stalled for years.
The urgency of finding a peaceful resolution has increased due to the ongoing 11-month war in Gaza, described as the bloodiest chapter in the conflict.
On May 28, Spain, Norway, and Ireland officially recognized a unified Palestinian state governed by the Palestinian Authority, consisting of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This brought the number of United Nations member states recognizing Palestinian statehood to 146 out of 193.
A diplomatic meeting of the Gaza Contact Group was also held in Madrid on May 29, led by Albares, where participants discussed the next steps in realizing the two-state solution.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has consistently emphasized the necessity of establishing two sovereign states as the only viable route to peace.
The ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, captured during the 1967 Middle East war, and the issue of expanding Jewish settlements have complicated the peace process.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, in an interview with Reuters, confirmed that Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa would attend the upcoming meeting in Madrid.
"The actual establishment of the Palestinian state or a very credible path to it" and the demobilisation of Hamas were key issues, he said.
He added that normalising relations between Israel and other states, particularly Saudi Arabia, was of importance.