Ramallah: Palestinian officials on Saturday strongly condemned Israel’s decision to block a planned visit by foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries to the West Bank, calling the move a dangerous escalation and interference in Palestinian political affairs.
Hussein al-Sheikh, vice president and deputy chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the Israeli government’s refusal to allow the delegation into Ramallah reflects “arrogant, provocative, and unprecedented behavior.”
“The Israeli occupation’s decision to prevent the Arab and Islamic delegation from reaching Ramallah is a dangerous escalation,” Sheikh wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. He added that consultations were underway with Arab states on how to respond, but did not elaborate.
Mahmoud al-Habbash, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on religious affairs, told Xinhua that Israel had refused to grant the delegation special permits required for entry into the occupied West Bank.
“The Palestinian leadership condemns and denounces Israel’s interference in preventing the meeting between President Abbas and the delegation of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers,” al-Habbash said.
Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said the visit had been postponed as a result of the Israeli decision, which he also described as “condemned and denounced.”
“The delegation was coming to show support for Palestine and President Abbas,” Majdalani told Xinhua. “Blocking the visit is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broader strategy to undermine the Palestinian Authority and its leadership.”
Israel’s state broadcaster Kan reported late Friday that the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had planned to travel to Ramallah on Sunday. According to the report, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials viewed the planned visit as a “defiant act” aimed at promoting discussions on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Six-Day War. Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian territory, and its annexation by Israel is deemed illegal.
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