Top ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority agreed at a meeting in Riyadh Thursday to move forward with plans to present a joint political vision for rehabilitating the Gaza Strip and establishing a Palestinian state after the Israel-Hamas war, two senior diplomats told The Times of Israel Friday.
Several drafts of the plan have already begun circulating between the countries, though it is unclear when it will be unveiled.
In the meantime, the participating countries used the meeting to reiterate their call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that four top Middle Eastern diplomats reiterated calls for “irreversible” steps towards the recognition of a Palestinian state during talks.
The Thursday meeting — first reported by The Times of Israel — was held as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his fifth crisis tour of the Middle East since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war and was attended by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, as well as a senior Palestinian Authority official. READ MORE