Leaders at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting called for a universally recognized Palestinian nation and normalized Israel-Saudi Arabia ties, hoping to bring peace to Gaza and boost regional security.
Yet the way forward – and the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants – remained uncertain as leaders left the Swiss resort town of Davos on Friday, after a week of discussions dominated by wars in Gaza and Ukraine, artificial intelligence and a year of consequential elections.
The United States has pushed for Israel to accept a Palestinian state in exchange for an American-backed peace treaty with Saudi Arabia.
Israel will only achieve “genuine security” and better integrate in the region through the creation of a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, but that "requires very difficult, challenging decisions; it requires a mindset that is open to that perspective."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-win government opposes a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said patching up the Israeli-Saudi relationship will take time but represents "an opportunity to move forward in the world and the region towards a better future."
Close to 3,000 leaders, including CEOs, policymakers, academics, and officials from international organization, attended WEF's 54th annual meeting, which hosted hundreds of panels and workshops.
“We must rebuild trust – trust in our future, trust in our capacity to overcome challenges, and most importantly, trust in each other,” WEF's executive chairman and founder, Klaus Schwab, said as the meeting ended. “Trust is not just a feeling; trust is a commitment to action, to belief, to hope.”
'Sustained peace' sought
Dozens of countries, including India, Pakistan, South Africa and the United States, along with the European Union are holding national elections in 2024. The Economist recently called Donald Trump's potential return to the White House "the biggest danger to the world."
French President Emmanuel Macron told leaders in Davos that Europe must be more assertive ahead of the U.S. election because “2024 will be a pivotal year for Europeans. We must prove that we can be more visible, make more efforts, whatever happens in the United States."
U.S., Israeli and Saudi officials have been discussing a potential deal for rebuilding Gaza with the support of neighboring Arab countries.
France and Qatar, meantime, helped mediate an agreement to bring medicine into Gaza for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that precipitated the war.
Qatar's foreign ministry said its air force flew medicine purchased by France to Egypt, near the Rafah crossing into Gaza, based on a list of needed items from Israel.
The need to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and avoid a larger conflagration calls for a two-state solution with a Palestinian state, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told leaders at Davos.
"From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to Sudan, and, more recently, Gaza, parties to conflict are ignoring international law; trampling on the Geneva Conventions; and even violating the United Nations Charter," he said.
But, he added: "In the face of the serious, even existential threats posed by runaway climate chaos, and the runaway development of artificial intelligence without guard rails, we seem powerless to act together."
More than 70% the United Nations' 193 member nations already recognize the Palestinian territories as a state. The U.N. Security Council's approval also is needed, and three permanent council members – France, the U.K. and the U.S. – do not recognize Palestine as a state.
"I repeat my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza," said Guterres, "and a process that leads to sustained peace for Israelis and Palestinians, based on a two-state solution."
