Arab countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have joined calls for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, AFP reports.

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.

“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” said the declaration.

France, which co-chaired the conference with Saudi Arabia, called the declaration “both historic and unprecedented.”

The text, co-signed by France, Britain and Canada among other Western nations, also called for the possible deployment of foreign forces to stabilise Gaza after the end of hostilities.

Israel and its ally, the United States, did not take part in the meeting.