France and Saudi Arabia hope to use this year’s United Nations General Assembly and the increasingly horrific war in the Gaza Strip to inject new urgency into the quest for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel's PM accuses nations of "giving a huge reward to terrorism" after Keir Starmer says the move will "revive the hope of peace".

With the backing of the United States, a defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a response to a number of countries recognizing a Palestinian state.

France and Saudi Arabia will convene dozens of world leaders on Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with several of them expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state - a move that could draw harsh Israeli and U.

After Canada, the UK and Australia also announced they'd taken the major step of recognition, which Israel has decried as rewarding terror.

DescriptionThe quest for Palestinian independence is set to get a major boost as several diplomatic heavyweights are expected to recognize a State of Palestine.

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations are engulfed by smoke following an Israeli military strike in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday,