Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud condemned the Israeli government’s decision to deny entry to a delegation of Arab ministers to the occupied West Bank, calling it a sign of “extremism and rejection of peace.”
The statement was made during a joint press conference in Amman with his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain, following a meeting of the Arab contact group that had planned to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
“Israel’s refusal of the committee’s visit to the West Bank embodies and confirms its extremism and refusal of any serious attempts for (a) peaceful pathway… It strengthens our will to double our diplomatic efforts within the international community to face this arrogance,” the Saudi minister stated.
On Saturday, Israel announced it would not permit the planned meeting on Sunday, which was to include ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, according to Palestinian Authority officials.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to the West Bank would have been the first such visit by a high-ranking Saudi official in recent history.
An Israeli official claimed that the ministers intended to participate in a “provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stated that blocking the trip was another instance of Israel “killing any chance of a just and comprehensive” Arab-Israeli settlement.
An international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to take place in New York from June 17-20 to address the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the conference would cover security arrangements following a ceasefire in Gaza and reconstruction plans to ensure Palestinians remain on their land and thwart any Israeli plans to evict them.
Israel has faced increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries, which support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, wherein an independent Palestinian state would coexist alongside Israel.
