Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday morning spoke to journalist Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum in Davos, discussing various conflicts in the Middle East.
“The Iranian people are yearning for change,” he told Zakaria. “The Iranian people deserve change. They deserve a decent life. The Iranian people live under a very oppressive regime, a regime which has mowed down thousands of its citizens, and is torturing, jailing, and destroying thousands of families, perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps much more, all around Iran, trying to crush the natural demand of human beings for a better life and for freedom.”
Herzog added, “You know what mind boggles me? All those who have attacked us for defending ourselves – where are they? Where’s Susan Sarandon? Where’s Cynthia Nixon? Where are all of these people?”
“Why don’t we see them demonstrating in front of the Iranian embassies, or demonstrating in the streets of cities all over the world and crying out loud and saying, ‘We support the Iranian people’? That shows the great hypocrisy that surrounded our fight for defending ourselves and actually changing the regional geostrategic trajectory. I sincerely hope and pray that there will be a change in Iran, because Iran deserves better. The region deserves better. The world deserves better.”
Regarding the war against Hamas in Gaza, Herzog praised “the incredible diplomatic effort of President Trump and the historic UN Security Council Resolution which calls for the next phase, means getting Hamas out as a military organization, and thereafter going for a major Marshall Plan for Gaza with historic consequences for the entire region. Now, this has to be done, and it’s going to be launched as part of the Board of Peace and its operations, the government of technocrats, which is accepted and agreed, which should take now the civilian management of Gaza.”
“The real test has to be Hamas leaving Gaza. This is the test of this movement from stage one to stage two, as well as, of course, the return of Ran Gvili, our hostage, as soon as possible. That’s where we’re at, so it’s not a standstill; it’s a stage-by-stage process.
“In my mind, to the people of Gaza, the children of Gaza deserve a good life. They should have good life, just like all of us deserve a good life and the region, but it cannot be under the guns of terrorists and cannot be under the guns of terrorists. It has to be without terrorism and giving a future to the people of Gaza.”
Regarding the situation in Syria, Herzog said that Israel is watching “Syria very cautiously because we are worried about our allies, the Druze in the south, and we have certain requirements as to their fate.”
He noted, “We had received really terrible reports of what happened in or Sweida a few months back, including sexual violence against women, including terrible atrocities. Now we have reports about what happened to the Kurds. It is also extremely worrying. We are watching that as well. I think the world has to know that it cannot be done by way of killing your own people and your own nation. But again, I say the overall aim should be a quiet and peaceful life, and a peaceful existence with Syria, and we wish well to Syria and its leaders so that they can bring a better future for the Syrian people.”
When asked about the Abraham Accords, Herzog stressed, “Saudi Arabia is a very important nation, and I always say it’s my dream to see the Crown Prince and the leader of Saudi Arabia sign an agreement with us on moving forward.”
“Right now, what we have is the platform of the Abraham Accords, and the Abraham Accords were carved out in the first term of President Trump, and has shown immense sustainability throughout this storm that we have seen in the Middle East throughout very difficult years. We want to see more nations in the Abraham Accords. Take, for example, the enormous role of the United Arab Emirates in what we’ve seen – the huge humanitarian aid to Gaza, building hospitals in Gaza, being heavily involved in various processes, such as the Board of Peace, and maintaining very strong relations with Israel.
“Saudi Arabia is the most important house of Sunni Muslims around the world with the holiest places for Islam, and I think that the vision of Saudi Arabia and Israel is a vision of rapprochement between Jew and Muslim, which should be the future vision of the Middle East,” he concluded.