The World Economic Forum in Davos was rocked by a diplomatic fracas on Thursday night as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, stormed off the stage after an emotional debate with Shimon Peres, Israel’s president, in a session about Gaza and the case for Middle East peace.

Klaus Schwab, organiser of the Davos gathering, scrambled to reassert “the Davos spirit” after Mr Erdogan said he would never come back to the Swiss resort. The incident was one of the biggest upsets to an event dedicated to what he called “natural understanding” between nations.