Israel blocks Ramallah meeting with Arab ministers

31/5/2025 17:25

Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday, after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming.



The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.



An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in "a provocative meeting" to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.



"Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel," the official said. "Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security."



A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.



The move comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.