On Monday, Saudi Arabia convened an Arab-European forum to consider recognising a Palestinian state.
Representatives from 20 nations attended the summit in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, according to the Saudi Al-Ekhbariya news station.
“We renew our commitment to finding a final solution to this conflict, recognising the State of Palestine, and drawing support for a two-state solution,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the gathering.
He warned that an Israeli ground strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip “will lead to a catastrophe.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, for his part, called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, humanitarian access to the enclave, and a two-state settlement to the war.
The discussion came after a six-way Arab meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to negotiate a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
Blinken landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday, marking the start of a regional journey that will also take him to Israel and Jordan.
Israel has launched a harsh onslaught in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ cross-border raid on October 7 last year, which Tel Aviv claims killed roughly 1,200 Palestinians.
Since then, nearly 34,500 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children, with over 77,600 more injured as a result of widespread devastation and chronic shortages of basic goods.
More than six months into Israel’s assault, enormous swaths of Gaza lay in ruins, forcing 85% of the enclave’s inhabitants into internal displacement amid a severe siege of food, clean water, and medication, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice. An interim verdict issued in January ordered Tel Aviv to halt genocidal activities and take steps to ensure that residents in Gaza get humanitarian aid.
