U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during his participation in the World Economic Forum in Riyadh on Monday that "in the absence of a plan to protect civilians, we cannot support a large military operation in Rafah." He stated, "The United States has not seen a plan from Israel regarding the Rafah attack that ensures the protection of civilians." Blinken added, "We are making efforts with our partners to end the conflict in Gaza and ensure it does not widen." He hoped that "Hamas would make the right decision by supporting ceasefire proposals." He revealed that "the Saudi-American bilateral work related to normalization with Israel is likely very close to completion."
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop of a Middle East tour, where he participated in a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a discussion at the World Economic Forum, where he mentioned that "the United Nations estimates the reconstruction of Gaza will take 30 years." He emphasized the "necessity of finding comprehensive solutions to the Palestinian situation, and we cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinians in the West Bank." He stated, "We need a credible path that cannot be reversed to establish a Palestinian state."
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, during the dialogue, noted that "the Israeli government is driven by an ideology that does not believe in a two-state solution," adding that "Israel publicly states that it does not want a two-state solution and rejects international resolutions." Safadi stressed that "Israeli settlements kill the two-state solution, and the establishment of a Palestinian state makes Hamas's advocacy irrelevant." He said, "We will tell Hamas to release the hostages if Israel stops firing first."
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri emphasized that "what must be done is the two-state solution and preventing the escalation of violence." He stated, "We have put a proposal on the table before Israel and Hamas that leads to a ceasefire, and we urge Israel and Hamas to make concessions."
