Mahmoud Abbas to Meet with U.S. Secretary of State and Regional Leaders in Riyadh

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several other officials from various countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the upcoming "World Economic Forum". According to Borge Brende, the President of the World Economic Forum, Abbas's meetings with these officials are part of negotiations aimed at achieving peace in Gaza, taking place on the sidelines of the forum. Brende stated, "We have key players in Riyadh now, and we hope that the discussions lead to a process toward reconciliation and peace." He mentioned that Antony Blinken, along with regional leaders including the Prime Minister of Qatar, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the Sultan of Oman, and Bahraini officials, will participate in these meetings. Additionally, the Egyptian Foreign Minister will also be present in Riyadh to update participants on the latest round of negotiations between Egyptian negotiators and Israeli officials, which took place on Friday, aimed at ending the war in Gaza and securing the return of hostages taken by Hamas. Brende noted that there is initial willingness to hold talks regarding hostages and a potential ceasefire. Following Hamas's terrorist attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of over 250 others, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying this Iran-backed group and recovering the hostages. During negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt last fall, over 100 hostages were released. Currently, 133 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza, with Israel believing that at least 20 of them have died. Since the October 7 attack, Hamas officials have repeatedly emphasized that they would carry out similar attacks if possible. Hamas claims that over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and about 75,000 others injured as a result of the Israeli offensive, although the Persian section of Voice of America cannot independently verify or confirm the figures provided by Hamas. In this context, Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.