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International Desk, May 31, 2025 : Israel has prevented foreign ministers from six Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, from traveling to the occupied West Bank in Palestine. The ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan were scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday, June 1, with Saudi Arabia leading the delegation.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the cancellation of the meeting in a statement on Saturday, citing Israel’s refusal to allow the ministers to use the West Bank’s airspace. The statement condemned Israel’s decision as a display of arrogance, forcing the ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to cancel their visit.
An Israeli official had previously told Reuters that Israel would block the meeting, fearing it would bolster efforts toward establishing an independent Palestinian state. According to a source cited by The Times of Israel, the visit would have marked the first time a Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited the West Bank since Israel occupied the territory in 1967 following the Arab-Israeli War.
The source further revealed that the Arab ministers were set to travel by helicopter from Jordan to Ramallah, but Israel imposed a ban on their use of the airspace. The decision to block the visit was finalized during a meeting chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his cabinet on Thursday.
AI/MR
