The Media Line: Saudi-Led Foreign Ministers To Be Denied Entry to Ramallah by Israel 

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Saudi-Led Foreign Ministers To Be Denied Entry to Ramallah by Israel 

By The Media Line Staff 

Israel has blocked a planned visit by a delegation of foreign ministers from six Arab countries—led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan—to the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli and American news sources reported on Friday. The group, which also included senior diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Turkey, was scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday. In order to enter the West Bank, the diplomats need Israeli approval, which the government has decided to deny. 

The government reportedly made the decision to deny the group’s entry during a high-level consultation on Thursday. The Times of Israel cited an anonymous senior Israeli official who accused the Palestinian Authority of seeking to use the visit to “promote the establishment of a Palestinian state,” which the official called a threat to Israel’s security. 

The decision comes as Israel faces increasing international criticism over its conduct in Gaza. Relations with Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, have soured since the war’s outbreak, despite plans by the US to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Speaking to Saudi state media, Palestinian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mazen Ghoneim said the visit was “a clear message [that] the Palestinian cause is a central issue to Arabs and Muslims.” Saudi Arabia, along with France, is set to co-chair a United Nations conference next month on reviving the two-state solution. 

The Ramallah visit, backed personally by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was meant to signal strong regional support for Palestinian statehood and the Palestinian Authority’s future role in governing Gaza.