Herzog sees ‘potential’ for next ceasefire stages as Qatar says talks ‘won’t be easy’

Speaking at World Economic Forum in Davos, president says Israel ‘meant it when we signed the agreement,’ notes his stance on two-state solution shifted in wake of October 7

Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel

President Isaac Herzog speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
President Isaac Herzog speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

Israeli and Qatari leaders expressed optimism on reaching further stages of a ceasefire-hostage release deal, in comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, but noted the many challenges facing mediators.

President Isaac Herzog said onstage at the global forum that there is “clear potential” to move ahead with negotiating the next phases of the deal.

“I believe that there is a clear potential of getting to the second stage. There is a desire, and we meant it when we signed the agreement,” Herzog told interviewer Fareed Zakaria.

The deal that went into effect on Sunday includes terms for the first 42 days — with negotiations on future phases scheduled to begin on day 16 of the ceasefire, early next month. The initial six weeks is slated to see the release of 33 Israeli hostages as well as approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gazan population centers.

Israel has said it will return to fighting in Gaza if its terms are not met in the next phases of the deal, which includes a demand for the toppling of Hamas as a political and military ruling force in the Strip.

“We know there are challenges and arguments,” said Herzog, noting the fears among those in Israel over the release of a large number of convicted Palestinian security prisoners. “This is the whole equation: We are asking to release women and children, and for that we are paying with terrorists — barbaric terrorists.”

Supporters and relatives of hostages held captive in Gaza react while watching a live TV broadcast on the release of three Israeli hostages, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, January 19, 2025. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Herzog said that Israelis are all desperate for the release of the hostages still being held in Gaza, including the 64 not included in the first stage of the deal: “We want them home, it’s the top priority of the nation of Israel.”

He pointed in the audience to Daniel Lifshitz, the grandson of Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz, who were both kidnapped on October 7 from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yocheved has since been freed, but Oded, 84, is still a hostage and slated for release in the first phase. His family has heavy concerns for his health due to his advanced age, and Hamas has not guaranteed that all 33 are still alive.

Also speaking at Davos on Tuesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said there is a “long way to go” before a permanent ceasefire in Gaza can be reached, but he remains hopeful.

“We are happy to see the first day of the ceasefire is starting, we are happy to see that people of Gaza are starting to get relief and we are also happy for the hostages to see them back with their families,” said Al Thani.

“We hope that this will sustain, will continue, will hold up to the end and move to phase two and phase three and the permanent ceasefire,” said the leader of Qatar, which played a critical role in mediating the recent deal alongside the US and Egypt. He said there are mechanisms in place to address violations, and mediators will do “everything we can” to keep it in place.

“There is still a long way to go, there are still negotiations to continue for stage two,” said Al Thani. “It won’t be easy negotiations, but I hope it’s not as difficult as what we have been through,” he added, pointing to more than a year of stopped and started talks since the collapse of the last ceasefire in November 2023.

“We are hopeful that now the calculations can be different, and everyone will feel responsible to put an end to it,” he said.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani (R) speaks with World Economic Forum President and CEO Borge Brende during the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

Both Herzog and Al Thani were asked in their separate sessions about a more long-term vision of the future for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the region as a whole. The two leaders also met on the sidelines of the conference earlier in the day, Herzog’s office said.

Herzog, a former leader of the left-wing Labor party who served in the Knesset for 15 years, said he has long been on record in support of a two-state solution, but his views shifted in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.

“I would say that I had a wake-up call following October 7,” the president said. “In the sense that I want to hear my neighbors say how much they object, regret, condemn, and do not accept, in any way, the terrible tragedy of the terror attack of October 7 — and the fact that it cannot be the tool to get there.”

Herzog told the audience that “one has to understand the state of mind of Israelis, to come after such a horror and a national trauma, surrounded by [threats] from seven different frontiers, and expect Israelis” to agree to move forward with withdrawing from West Bank settlements and reaching a negotiated political settlement with the Palestinians.

President Isaac Herzog (R) and CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria take part in a session during the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

“That’s not realistic at all,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to Israelis. They need to see something that makes sense in terms of their personal security and safety.”

Rather, Herzog said, he believes that a process that includes normalization with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations and “puts the Palestinian issue as a focal point in the discussions is something which makes more sense to me.”

Al Thani said that “October 7 was a wake up call for the region, that also we need to address the issue of the Palestinians.” He suggested that there has been “momentum built around the world about the two-state solution that’s been absent, unfortunately, for a very long time.”

He also said he hopes that the Palestinian Authority can play a role in the governing future of Gaza, and that all Palestinian factions can work together in one governing body.

“There should be a government that represents everybody, that’s the professional government that takes care of the situation, the reconstruction in Gaza,” said the Qatari leader. “But also this shouldn’t happen in isolation from the West Bank, and both of them should be one unit under one government.”

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