Israel blocks Saudi-led delegation from visiting Palestinian Authority
Israel decided to block a visit planned for Sunday by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey to the Palestinian Authority, a senior Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters.
Why it matters: The highly unusual decision will further exacerbate the tensions tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and Israel's Arab neighbors.
President Trump made bringing Saudi Arabia and other countries into the Abraham Accords with Israel a top foreign policy goal. Israel's move shows how far off that is.
The diplomatic dispute underscores how isolated Israel has become internationally after 19 months of war in Gaza.
Driving the news: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan organized the visit of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers to Ramallah as part of a Saudi diplomatic initiative to push for international recognition of a Palestinian state.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally supported the trip, which was also intended to show support for the embattled Palestinian Authority.
The delegation was to arrive on Sunday in two helicopters from Jordan and meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Palestinian officials said.
In order to enter the occupied West Bank, the delegation needed approval from the Israeli government.
The Israeli government debated the issue and decided on Friday to block it.
What they're saying: A senior Israeli official told reporters that the Palestinian Authority intended to host "a defiant meeting" of Arab foreign ministers for a discussion aimed at promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"Such a state would certainly become a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Israel will not cooperate with moves designed to harm it and its security. The Palestinian Authority must stop violating its agreements with Israel on all levels," the Israeli official said.
Between the lines: In mid-June, Saudi Arabia and France will hold an international conference at UN headquarters in New York in support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
France and Saudi Arabia have been pushing countries to recognize a Palestinian state in conjunction with the conference.
Blocking the Arab delegation is a signal of opposition from the Israeli government toward this initiative.
State of play: Israel's relations with many Arab countries have been deteriorating since the current right-wing government assumed office in Dec. 2022, and in particular as the death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have grown.
Earlier this week, the UAE summoned Israel's ambassador to its foreign ministry for an unusual dressing down.
An Emirati official told Axios the meeting was "extremely tough" and the ambassador was given angry messages to send back to Netanyahu.
"You know you have a problem when the UAE calls you into the principal's office. It's not because you were tardy to class," the Emirati official said.
The big picture: The Netanyahu government is vehemently opposed to an independent Palestinian state and has taken numerous step over the last two years to deepen its occupation of the West Bank.
The government has approved thousands of new housing units in the West Bank settlements in recent weeks, and recently approved the establishment of 22 new settlements.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has been ongoing, with the Israeli government taking very little action to prevent it. Some members of the Israeli government give political backing to settlers involved in such attacks.
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Wood said in his resignation statement that he was "approached" about two months ago to lead GHF because of his experience in "humanitarian operations." "At the time, GHF was a loose constellation of various ideas and concepts among a wide range of stakeholders, and I sought to establish it as a truly independent humanitarian entity. I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Gaza," Wood said. "However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon," Wood said. John Acree was named as the interim executive director of the foundation the next day, on May 26, according to a release from GHF. When ABC News requested an interview with someone from GHF, the group said no one would be available. GHF said in a press release Friday it has distributed over 2.1 million meals in Gaza, and operations will continue scaling with plans to build additional sites, including in the northern region. "Despite the emergency intensity and kinetic environment surrounding our operations, the fact is our assistance efforts are helping Gazans," a statement from Acree said. "But this is just the beginning. Our commitment to safely and effectively supplying food directly to a large, hungry population is unwavering, and we look forward to continuing to scale and strengthen on our initial undertakings to help meet the basic food security needs of the people in Gaza." Humanitarian crisis worsens Critics have warned GHF's plan will not meet the needs of Palestinians. "I walked for kilometers, I got tired and only came home with a can of peas," Mazen Yunis, a Palestinian from Khan Younis, told an ABC News producer in Gaza outside the distribution site in Rafah. "The quantity was limited, and the people swarmed it; barely anyone got some, only a few people got boxes, around 2,000 people went there, maybe a 100 got some." "I have a 10-member family and only came back with a can of peas," Yunis said. Netanyahu said earlier this month that the new aid scheme under GHF would distribute food to Palestinian families to last them a week. He also said that it will be "very hard for Hamas to steal it, especially because we guard these positions." Amnesty International said only experienced groups should coordinate the relief needed by the over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, "who are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity due to the weaponisation of starvation," in a statement Thursday. "The United Nations and global aid organizations have universally condemned the GHF for undermining established aid distribution networks and violating core international humanitarian principles," Amnesty International said. "Alarmingly, the scheme puts military personnel in charge of aid delivery, an approach fundamentally at odds with international humanitarian standards." U.N. officials also said humanitarian law must be respected. "We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians wherever they are," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. "We and our humanitarian partners stand ready to deliver at scale, which is something we've repeated over and over and again," Dujarric said. Aid groups also criticized the limited number of distribution points. "Even if implemented, the plan's proposed aid volumes fall short of the immense scale of needs in Gaza. The level of need right now is overwhelming, and aid needs to be allowed to enter immediately and without impediment," the ICRC said in a separate statement on Tuesday. The ICRC said it is not involved in the GHF aid distribution, saying it "cannot work under any mechanism that doesn't allow us to uphold those principles and our modalities of work." "Humanitarian aid should not be politicized nor militarized. This erodes the neutrality required to ensure assistance is delivered based solely on need, not political or military agendas," the ICRC said in a statement. Gabor Rona, a professor at Cardozo School of Law who specializes in international humanitarian law, agreed with the criticism of GHF. "The GHF operation is a violation of humanitarian principles of independence, neutrality, and impartiality, but most importantly, the principle of humanity, given the program's inadequacy and consistency with Israeli and U.S. interests in displacement of the civilian population under occupation (a war crime and crime against humanity)," Rona said in an email to ABC News. The World Food Programme, which is part of the U.N., said it "cannot safely operate under a distribution system that limits the number of bakeries and sites where Gaza's population can access food." "WFP and its partners must also be allowed to distribute food parcels directly to families -- the most effective way to prevent widespread starvation," the organization said in a statement. GHF said in a press release on Friday that it is "actively testing and adapting its distribution model to safely deliver the maximum amount of aid to the greatest number of people." The organization added, "We will continue to adapt based on conditions on the ground, including access, crowd pressure, and safety considerations."
