Arab ministers call Israel 'arrogant' after it 'bans' a planned West Bank visit

The foreign ministers of five Arab countries have condemned Israel for blocking their planned visit to the occupied West Bank this weekend.

The ministers denounced “Israel’s decision to ban the delegation’s visit to Ramallah [on Sunday] to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas,” the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were expected to attend the meeting in the occupied West Bank, along with Türkiye.

However, Israel announced late on Friday that it would not permit the meeting to take place. As Israel controls the borders and airspace of the Palestinian territory, the ministers would have required Israeli approval to enter from Jordan.

An Israeli official said the Palestinian Authority — which “still refuses to condemn the October 7 massacre” — had planned to host what they described as a “provocative” meeting in Ramallah aimed at promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The ministers said in a joint statement that the decision to block the visit “reflects the extent of the Israeli government’s arrogance, its disregard for international law, and its continued illegitimate measures and policies that besiege the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership.”

Israeli strike in aid centre

An Israeli strike killed at least 26 Palestinians and injured over 100 early on Sunday at a US-backed aid distribution site, Reuters reported, citing Hamas-affiliated media.

“At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others… were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens” approaching a US aid site west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

He said the dead and injured were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.