Arab ministers condemn Israel ‘ban’ on planned West Bank visit

AMMAN: The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend on Saturday condemned Israel’s decision to block their plans.

The ministers condemned “Israel’s decision to ban the delegation’s visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas”, the Jordanian foreign ministry said.

Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been expected to take part alongside Turkey and the secretary-general of the Arab League.

Israel had announced late Friday that it would not cooperate, effectively blocking the visit as it controls the territory’s borders and airspace.

Abbas “intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state,” said a statement attributed to an unidentified official.

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“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”

Had the visit gone ahead, the delegation’s head Prince Faisal bin Farhan would have become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank.

Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, regarded by the United Nations as illegal under international law and one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

During a visit to one of the new settlement sites on Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the Palestinian territory.

Taking aim at foreign countries that would “recognise a Palestinian state on paper”, he added: “The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper.”

In June, Saudi Arabia and France are to co-chair an international conference at UN headquarters meant to resurrect the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Saudi Arabia was said to have been close to recognising Israel before the start of the Gaza war, and US President Donald Trump, during a recent visit to Riyadh, called normalisation between the countries “my fervent hope and wish”.

But de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state.