Israel Palestinians
Saudi Arabia has called for regional “stability” and warned of the impact of Israel’s prolonged conflict on Palestinian territory on global economic mood during a summit with Gaza mediators.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders, and high-ranking officials from other countries attempting to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are among those scheduled to attend the meeting on Sunday in Riyadh, the world’s largest crude oil exporter.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al Jadaan stated during one of the first panel talks of the two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) special conference that the war in Gaza, as well as conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere, put “a lot of pressure” on the economic “mood”.
“I think cool-headed countries and leaders and people need to prevail,” he remarked. “The region needs stability.”
The Gaza war, which has heightened regional tensions, began on October 7 with an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian group Hamas against southern Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which aimed to destroy Hamas, has killed at least 34,454 individuals in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry. Speaking in Riyadh, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas stated that the US “is the only country capable” of halting Israel’s long-feared invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
“We appeal to the United States of America to ask Israel to stop the Rafah operation,” Abbas said, warning it would harm and displace civilians, and be “the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people”.
Saudi planning minister Faisal al Ibrahim told a press conference on Saturday, before the summit, that the globe is “walking a tightrope right now, trying to balance security and prosperity”.
Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, stated that there is “some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, as well as for… a possible way out of the impasse we are facing in Gaza.”
