Saudi Arabia: Gaza conflict pushing region in ‘wrong direction’

The Israel-Gaza conflict is pushing the whole region “in the wrong direction,” Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan says, calling for an end to the fighting.

“This all pushes us absolutely in the wrong direction. It means that we are making a path toward a sustainable peace more difficult,” bin Farhan tells AFP, as the international community steps up its diplomatic efforts to push for de-escalation.

The conflict is “empowering the extremists,” he adds.

“It empowers the most intolerant voices in our region and makes (finding) a path to real peace harder,” he adds, speaking on the sideline of summits in France on Sudan and Africa.

“We have to all work together to encourage all the parties to engage (seriously), he says. “First of all, to de-escalate, to stop the violence and then to engage in serious peace talks toward a final settlement.”

That final settlement “must include a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat stresses.