Latest news with #WestBank
LBCI
2 hours ago
- General
- LBCI
Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit: Jordan
The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend on Saturday condemned Israel's decision to block their plans. The ministers condemned "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. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were expected to participate alongside Turkey. AFP
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Middle East updates: Hamas demands permanent end to Gaza war
Hamas says response to ceasefire proposal has been submitted Delegation of Arab diplomats postpone West Bank visit Israel alleged to have refused the delegation entry through airspace it controls There has been no official comment from Israel yet Below you can read a roundup of developments in Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle East from Saturday, May 31, 2025: The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it has submitted a response to a ceasefire proposal presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators. Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and several other countries, said it would release ten living hostages and the bodies of 18 others in return for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas also added an additional demand for the war to end. "This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip," the group said in a statement. It said its response came "after conducting a round of national consultations." According to the White House, Israel has accepted the US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war. Israeli media has reported that the plan drawn up by Witkoff provides for a 60-day truce. There has been no official response from Israel regarding the planned trip to the Israeli-occupied West Bank by a delegation of top officials from Arab nations. But news agencies have quoted an Israeli official as saying the ministers intended to take part in "a provocative meeting" to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state, both the AFP and the Reuters news agencies reported. "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," the official was quoted as saying. A delegation of Arab ministers who had planned to make a rare visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank have condemned Israel as they announced the postponement of the trip due to what they called "Israel's obstruction." The group, led by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, had planned to travel from Jordan to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "The committee decided to postpone the visit to Ramallah in light of Israel's obstruction of its mission by refusing the delegation entry through airspace in the occupied West Bank controlled by Israel," Jordan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on the social media platform X. The ministers slammed the reported Israeli decision, calling it a "flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as the occupying power," the ministry added. The delegation involved ministers ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey were also expected to be involved. There was no official Israeli comment on the visit. In Saturday's developments, a top Arab delegation has postponed a visit to the West Bank, claiming the group was barred entry by Israel. The delegation involved ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey were also expected to be involved. Meanwhile, Palestinian militant group Hamas is expected to respond to the US special envoy Steve Witkoff's ceasefire and hostage release proposal. You can read more here as developments unfold across the Middle East region.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
GCC Sec-Gen: Israeli Approval of Settlement Construction in West Bank Violates Palestinian Sovereignty
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi expressed his strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli occupation forces' approval to build 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, SPA reported. According to a press release issued by the GCC Secretariat General, Secretary-General Albudaiwi stressed that this approval is a blatant violation and a flagrant challenge to the principles of international law and international legitimacy. He added that these provocative practices represent a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region and undermines international efforts aimed at resuming the peace process. Albudaiwi affirmed the GCC's complete rejection of any attempts to impose a new reality on the sovereignty of the brotherly Palestinian people over all their occupied territories. He reiterated the commitment of the GCC countries to support the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
New York Times
5 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Israel Bars Arab Foreign Ministers From High-Level West Bank Visit
The Israeli government has barred foreign ministers from a number of Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, from visiting the Israeli-occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders, the Jordanian government said on Saturday. A Jordanian foreign ministry statement said the delegation had planned to meet in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the territory. A visit by such high-ranking Arab officials to the West Bank would have been very unusual. The Israeli government refused to comment. Among those slated to attend was Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister. He would have been the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank in recent memory, according to Palestinian officials. Officials from Bahrain and Egypt had also been expected. The visiting officials had planned to confer with Mr. Abbas ahead of a June conference led by France and Saudi Arabia, expected to take place in New York, to discuss the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is strongly opposed to the idea. But Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza has already prompted a few European countries — including Spain, Norway and Ireland — to formally recognize a state of Palestine in the hopes of jump-starting the long-dormant Middle East peace process. Since the war began almost 20 months ago, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, a second Palestinian territory, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war began after Hamas led the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israel. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- General
- News.com.au
Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
The foreign ministers of five Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip. The ministers condemned "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. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been expected to take part alongside Turkey and the secretary-general of the Arab League. Israel had announced late Friday that it would not cooperate, effectively blocking the visit as it controls the territory's borders and airspace. Abbas "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," an 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." Had the visit gone ahead, the delegation's head, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, would have become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank. Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, regarded by the United Nations as illegal under international law and one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. During a visit to one of the new settlement sites on Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the Palestinian territory. - 'Diplomatic confrontation' - 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 are to 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 repeatedly said Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state. Firas Maksad, a fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Israel's rejection of the visit indicated "how far Saudi and Israel have moved from normalisation to diplomatic confrontation". He added that the planned visit "underscores just how much the Saudi position has shifted away from creating a credible pathway towards a Palestinian state through conditional normalisation with Israel, to one that aims to create such a path via an international coalition in support of Palestinian aspirations". Saudi Arabia is co-hosting with France a conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York aiming to revive the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron previously said he could recognise a Palestinian state at that conference, drawing a sharp rebuke from Israel.
