Saudi Arabia urges to stop ‘redefining’ Gaza ceasefire, warns against altering agreed terms

ISTANBUL

A senior Saudi official called Saturday to “stop redefining” the Gaza ceasefire and avoid renegotiating terms already endorsed by the UN Security Council.

“We cannot be open to redefinition and renegotiation of what we have already agreed to and also what was issued as a Security Council resolution that was passed and welcomed by all parties,” Manal Radwan, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, told the Doha Forum 2025.

“So we cannot go back and redefine what we mean by ceasefire, what we mean even by disarmament, what we mean by a Palestinian-led process in governing Gaza.”

Radwan said that altering key principles risks placing the region on a “sidetrack” that focuses on tactical details while losing sight of the core of the conflict.

“We cannot be redefining these things back and forth and getting ourselves into a sidetrack that gets us into so many details about what, who, when, and we lose sight of the overall and the core of the conflict,” she said.

“Almost everyone in the international community agrees that the two-state solution is the only solution forward,” she said. “If that is so, then it is asking people what it is that they are going to do to bring this implementation and make it possible.”

– Gaza cannot be treated in isolation

Radwan warned against viewing Gaza as a standalone crisis, stressing that the enclave is part of the broader Palestinian question.

“First of all, Gaza is not a case on its own,” she said. “Gaza is about the Palestinian conflict. It is not just about Gaza.”

She added that no ceasefire or humanitarian mechanism can succeed if the political goal is not kept in focus.

“If we talk about security, or humanitarian access, or the plight of moving from one stage to the other, we cannot do that in absence of the ultimate objective,” she said.

“And the ultimate objective is security for all. It is regional integration which is embedded in the realization of a Palestinian state.”

“We have seen this movie before,” she said. “There is a war in Gaza, then there is an engagement by the international community, then there is a search for humanitarian assistance, and then political fatigue, and then we forget about it — only to see another more violent cycle of violence erupt.”

She stressed that if Palestinian rights are not fulfilled, “there is no security for anyone, including Israel and the rest of the region, but also the world at large.”

Radwan said the path forward depends on preserving the agreed framework, preventing any backsliding in definitions, and ensuring that implementation remains tied to Palestinian statehood.

“If we do not ensure the security and the political aspiration of Palestinians being fulfilled, then there is no plan in the world that will be able to drive us not only from one stage to the next, but also to prevent another spiral of violence,” she said.

The ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10, halting a two-year Israeli war that has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others since October 2023.

Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

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