Israel won't cooperate with Arab ministers visiting West Bank: official

Jerusalem: Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom’s top diplomat was heading to Ramallah.

Israel controls the Palestinian territory’s borders and airspace, meaning its approval would be needed for the diplomats to enter.

“The Palestinian Authority intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the Israeli official said.

“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”

The comment came hours after a diplomatic source told AFP that Prince Faisal bin Farhan would become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank on Sunday.

CNN reported that ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey would also take part.

Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new West Bank settlements, which are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Friday, visiting one of the areas slated for recognition, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the West Bank.

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Taking aim at foreign countries that would “recognise a Palestinian state on paper”, he added: “The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper.”

In June, Saudi Arabia and France will co-chair an international conference at UN headquarters meant to resurrect the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Saudi Arabia was said to have been close to recognising Israel before the start of the Gaza war, and US President Donald Trump, during a recent visit to Riyadh, called normalisation between the countries “my fervent hope and wish”.

But de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state.