Israel Blocks Arab Foreign Ministers’ Visit to West Bank, Condemned as Obstacle to Two-State Solution

Ramallah (HRNW)- The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were scheduled to visit the West Bank on Sunday at the invitation of the Palestinian president, but Israel blocked the visit.

According to the international news agency, the foreign ministers of the five Arab countries were to be joined by a representative of Turkey and the Secretary-General of the Arab League.

The visit was scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday, but a day earlier, Israel refused to allow the visit.

If the visit had been completed, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan would have become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank.

Condemning Israel’s illegal move, the foreign ministers of the Arab countries said that this frivolous act would prolong the sensitive issue rather than resolve it.

The foreign ministers of the Arab countries stressed the two-state solution and said that Israel should understand that there is no other solution to the Palestinian conflict.

Israel captured the territory in 1967 and still controls the borders and airspace of the West Bank.

An Israeli official told the media that President Abbas intended to host a provocative meeting of foreign ministers in which the establishment of a Palestinian state would be promoted.

He added that a Palestinian state would certainly become a terrorist state in the heart of Israel. Therefore, any such attempt that undermines Israel’s security will be thwarted.

It should be noted that Israel announced the establishment of 22 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank this week, which the United Nations considers illegal under international law.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz had said that we will create a Jewish Israeli state in the Palestinian territories.

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia and France will host an international conference at the United Nations headquarters next June, which aims to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.