Saudi Arabia says Israel shows 'extremism' by blocking West Bank visit

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said the Israeli government's refusal to allow a delegation of Arab ministers into the occupied West Bank showed its "extremism and rejection of peace".

His statement came during a joint press conference in Amman with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, after they met as part of an Arab contact group that was going to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

"Israel's refusal of the committee's visit to the West Bank embodies and confirms its extremism and refusal of any serious attempts for (a) peaceful pathway .. It strengthens our will to double our diplomatic efforts within the international community to face this arrogance," the Saudi minister said.

On Saturday, Israel said it would not allow a planned meeting on Sunday that would have included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said.

Bin Farhan's visit to the West Bank would have marked the first such visit by a top Saudi official in recent memory.

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

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said blocking the trip was another example of how Israel was "killing any chance of a just and comprehensive" Arab-Israeli settlement.

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

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the conference would cover security arrangements after a ceasefire in Gaza and reconstruction plans to ensure Palestinians would remain on their land and foil any Israeli plans to evict them.

Commenting on blocking the visit, Israeli Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh said the Arab foreign ministers' delegation aimed to end the Gaza war, enhance the Palestinian Authority's role, and support a Saudi-French U.N. initiative to set up a roadmap for a Palestinian state

Odeh told Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya Television that the Saudi-French initiative could lead to broader international recognition of a Palestinian state, a move he said contradicts Israeli government policy.

According to Odeh, the Israeli government seeks to undermine the Palestinian Authority because it views it as the "nucleus of the Palestinian state." He said Israel blocked the Arab foreign ministers' visit because it could have helped strengthen the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries that favour a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.