Lapid calls for conference with Gulf states on Gaza reconstruction

Finance Minister Yair Lapid says Israel should convene a joint committee with Gulf states to form a “regional conference, which will include the United States, European Union, Egypt, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States with support from the donor countries,” which “could create a joint framework of demilitarization and rehabilitation” of the Gaza Strip.

“I am calling for a regional conference which will provide an international framework to achieve these aims,” he says. “Without a diplomatic initiative, without widespread international support, any attempt to reach an agreement will be the beginning of the countdown toward the next round of violence.”