The Israeli regime has denied permission for the foreign ministers of Arab countries and Turkey, led by the Saudi foreign minister, to enter the West Bank.
Axios reporter Barak Rawid stated on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account: “Israel has decided to prevent the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey from visiting the Palestinian Authority.”
The trip was scheduled to take place on Sunday.
An Israeli official explained that this decision was made to prevent the meeting from occurring in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing an Israeli official, that Israel opposes the plan to host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Ramallah.
According to the official, the meeting “will be dedicated to strengthening the formation of a Palestinian state, which is unacceptable.”
The official added: “Israel will not participate in actions that are detrimental to its security, and the Palestinian Authority must stop violating agreements with Israel at all levels.”
The cancellation of the trip by the Arab and Turkish foreign ministers was announced hours after an informed source at the Palestinian embassy in Riyadh stated on Friday that Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan would soon travel to the West Bank.
If bin Farhan were to visit the West Bank, it would be significant, as it would be the first visit by a Saudi official of this capacity to the region since 1967.
The trip to Ramallah was part of the activities of the ministerial committee resulting from the Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh.
The purpose of the meeting was previously announced to review developments related to the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza and to exchange views with Palestinian Authority officials.