HNGN recently reported that Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan came out in support of peace with Israel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. On Thursday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog seconded that motion, but with a significant caveat.
He stopped short of stating that a two-state solution was the way to end violence in the region.
"It's still delicate, it's fragile, and it will take a long time, but I think that it is actually an opportunity to move forward in the world and the region towards a better future," Herzog said.
bin Farham said that Saudi Arabia would certainly recognize the state of Israel as part of a larger political agreement on regional security. "But that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state," he said.
What Does Israel Think?
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ferociously opposed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Herzog's role as president is largely ceremonial. It is Prime Minister Netanyahu who acts in the role of chief executive over the current right-wing government in Tel Aviv.
"When nations come forward and say 'two-state solution,' they have to first deal with a preliminary question, which is a core question for human beings: Are we offered real safety?" Herzog said. "Israelis lost trust in the peace process because they could see that terror is glorified by our neighbors."
The Israeli president also spoke of the economic turmoil that is currently ensuing due to the attacks on maritime commerce in the Red Sea perpetrated by the Houthi militants of Yemen.
"The Houthi issue is a number one priority, because it raises the cost of living for every family in the universe, a little tribe of 50,000 people, amassed with the weapons of an empire," Herzog said.
The Biden administration has stated in the past, that it believes the two-state solution is the ideal solution." In our view, it has to be a two-state solution," he said, reiterating a comment he made during his visit to Israel. "And that means a concentrated effort for all the parties - Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders - to put us on a path toward peace."
