Israel has decided to halt an upcoming visit to the West Bank by a delegation of Middle Eastern foreign ministers led by Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, officials said. The foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan were slated to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday. The senior Israeli officials have told reporters that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was planning to use the delegation’s visit to “promote the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
“Israel cannot allow such visits to take place as it may harm the security of the nation,” claiming that a Palestinian state would become “a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel.” The Arab delegation had no intention of visiting the Israeli state however, they are required to take permission from Tel Aviv ahead of visiting the West Bank because of Israeli occupation of its borders.
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The visit by Prince Faisal bin Farhan was supposed to be the first by a Saudi foreign minister since Israel took over the West Bank in 1967. The ministers were supposed to arrive in Ramallah via helicopters from Jordan, a source familiar with the matter said. The decision to block the visit was made during a ministerial consultation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held on Thursday. The move will also likely raise further questions over the legitimacy of Israel’s control of the West Bank.
The Israeli entry ban is likely to further strain Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbours, which have already deteriorated significantly since the outbreak of the Gaza war. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally supported the trip, which was also intended to show support for the embattled PA, according to reports. With this move, expecting Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalisetheir relations has now become a distant dream for Tel Aviv,which is far from coming to reality anytime soon.
A mark of that was also witnessed when the US president, during his tri-nation tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, bypassed Israel and also relinquished his longstanding stance on normalisation between the countries for a trade deal.
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