Saudi FM says Red Sea attacks linked to Israel’s war in Gaza, ceasefire needed

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea are connected to the war in Gaza and there is a need for an immediate ceasefire there.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said during the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos that the Kingdom’s priority is finding a path to de-escalation through a ceasefire in Gaza.

He also said that the Kingdom could recognize Israel if a comprehensive agreement was reached that included statehood for the Palestinians.

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“We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state," Prince Faisal said.

Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognize Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: “Certainly.”

Prince Faisal said securing regional peace through the creation of a Palestinian state was “something we have been indeed working on with the US administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza.”

The Palestinians want a state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as their capital.
US-sponsored negotiations with Israel on achieving that stalled more than a decade ago.

Among the hurdles have been Israeli settlement of occupied land and feuding between Western-backed Palestinian authorities and Hamas who rejects coexistence with Israel.

“There is a pathway toward a much better future for the region, for the Palestinians, and for Israel, that is peace, and we are fully committed to that,” said Prince Faisal.

“... a ceasefire on all sides should be a starting point for permanent sustainable peace, which can only happen through justice to the Palestinian people.”

The war in Gaza started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel says more than 130 remain in captivity.

Israel responded to Hamas’ assault with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that have devastated the tiny coastal territory and killed, Palestinian health officials say, more than 24,000 people.

The war has raised fears of wider regional instability.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah have frequently clashed along the border with Israel, while pro-Iranian militias have attacked US targets in Iraq.

Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and they say they will not stop until Israel halts its bombardment of Gaza.

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