At a special meeting of the World Economic Forum, Saudi Arabia discusses the war in Gaza / Article

A special meeting of the World Economic Forum focused on the war in the Gaza Strip and broader issues of economic and political instability as well as growth has begun in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Opening the meeting, Saudi representatives said that the war in Gaza could further affect the global economy, so it should be stopped as soon as possible. The Middle East region needs stability, Saudi Arabia stressed.

A meeting of ministers of six Arab countries has already taken place at the meeting – representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan took part. In the joint statement, they called for a long-term ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas group as soon as possible, as well as practical steps to recognize Palestine as a state at the international level. Also, the representatives of the mentioned Arab countries condemned any attempts to move the Palestinians away from their land.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will arrive in Riyadh on Monday. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Great Britain, as well as the high representative of the European Union in foreign affairs, also participate in the meeting.

There will be representatives of the group “Hamas” as well as the Palestinian Authority. However, the Israeli delegation will not be present at the Saudi meeting.

“Hamas” said in an official statement that they are currently studying Israel’s response to their proposed ceasefire conditions, Latvian Radio reported on Saturday. Unofficial information shows that the Israeli proposal was submitted after a delegation of Egyptian negotiators arrived in the country a day earlier.

Also, a video recording of two prisoners who were captured on October 7 during the attack on Israel was made public. It suggests both men are still alive, increasing pressure on the Israeli government to agree to a ceasefire with the goal of freeing all hostages before Israel’s independence day in mid-May.

Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,170 people. Israeli authorities believe that 129 people are still being held captive by the terrorists, 34 of whom are dead.

An estimated 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli retaliatory attack.

Report a bug