Israel prevents Arab foreign ministers from meeting in the West Bank

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Israel prevented many Arab foreign ministers entering the occupied West Bank, describing it as a provocative step aimed at strengthening the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli veto came before Sunday’s visit to Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, through a high -level delegation, including Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This was the first official visit by a senior Saudi official in the region that Israel seized during the 1967 Arab War. The successive American administrations sought to normalize relations between the Kingdom and Israel.

Among the other members of the delegation were the foreign ministers in Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain – all Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel.

International pressure on Israel has intensified in recent weeks, primarily on its renewed attack in Gaza and the terrible humanitarian conditions in the pocket.

On Saturday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had given international mediators its response to the latest suggestion of the ceasefire, which Steve Whitcom, the US special envoy for the Middle East.

The group said that it will be ready to release 10 hostile hostages, and the bodies of 18 others were seized during its attack on October 7, 2023, which raised the Gaza war, in exchange for a “agreed number of Palestinian prisoners” held by Israel.

However, Hamas added that the goal is to “achieving a permanent ceasefire, comprehensive withdrawal (the Israeli army) from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring aid to the flow of our people.”

A diplomat informed them of the talks that Hamas had responded positively, “but they still have clarifications and points they wanted to raise.”

The proposal called the new frame of Witkoff to a temporary stop for 60 days in the fighting, which is nearly half of the 58 Israeli hostages and “goodwill negotiations” on a permanent stop of the war.

The Trump administration indicated this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the conditions, although he has continued to end the fighting before Hamas was completely destroyed.

Also on Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that the Hamas military commander, Muhammad Sinwar, and many other senior leaders were killed in an air strike on May 13 in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. According to the Irish Union, the group was targeted while it was in a tunnel under the lands of the European Hospital for the city.

Sinwar assumed the comprehensive leadership of the Hamas forces last year, after most of the other group leaders – including his brother Yahya – were killed by Israel.

An Israeli official regarding the refusal to allow the Arab delegation in the West Bank said that the Palestinian Authority “aims to host … (this) for the provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss strengthening the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The official added: “Israel will not cooperate with such movements that aim to harm and security.”

Many of The international community The views of the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, as a basis for a Palestinian state in the future. France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are scheduled to host a summit in New York next month on the Israeli -Palestinian conflict, with many Western governments, including the United Kingdom, while admitting to recognize a Palestinian state.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the refusal to enter the delegation was “a flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power” in the West Bank and reflecting “the extent of the arrogance of the Israeli government, and its ignorance of international law, its continuous standards and policies.”

The ministry added that the delegation’s visit to Ramallah from Amman via a helicopter was postponed after Israel denied the use of airspace under its control.

The Palestinian Ambassador in his head, Saudi government news channel, said on Friday that the “rare” visit sought to mobilize support for the two -state solution before the conference in New York.

On Thursday, the Israeli government announced the establishment of 22 new settlements throughout the West Bank, the largest expansion in years from the institution, which many governments consider illegal.

The Israeli ministers described the decision as a “decisive response” to the Palestinian militancy and “a strategic step that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Nearly 500,000 Jewish Israelis have settled in the West Bank over the past five decades. About 3 million Palestinians live in the region under Israeli military rule and partial autonomy managed by the Palestinian Authority.

Participated in additional reports from Ahmed Imran in Jeddah and Andrew England in London