Arab-Islamic ministerial delegation holds virtual meeting with Palestinian president after Israel blocks Ramallah visit

An Arab-Islamic ministerial delegation held a virtual meeting on Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Israel barred the group from visiting the West Bank city of Ramallah, Anadolu reports.

Addressing a press conference following the meeting, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that the meeting with Abbas aimed to “push for a just and comprehensive peace.”

“We want peace and are working for it,” he said. “Israel, however, is doing everything on the ground to destroy the last remaining hope for a viable two-state solution.”

He called on the international community to act urgently to halt the war in Gaza, saying the scale of Israel’s “massacres has gone far beyond what any human conscience can accept.”

Safadi also mentioned that Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with the delegation and emphasized the importance of their role in rallying international support to end the Gaza war.

The top Jordanian diplomat denounced the Israeli blockade on Gaza as a reflection of “arrogance and extremism.”

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“The same extremist Israeli government that is committing massacres in Gaza, killing children and women, destroying hospitals, and using starvation as a weapon, is also blocking the visit of a political delegation that is working to stop the war.”

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan also condemned the Israeli policies.

“Israel’s refusal to allow the delegation’s visit to the West Bank is yet another confirmation of its extremism and rejection of any serious efforts toward peace,” he said.

“This rejection only strengthens our resolve to intensify diplomatic efforts to end this war and secure peace,” he added.

The delegation included the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, as well as the secretaries-general of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The ministers’ planned visit was intended to discuss steps to support Palestinian statehood and address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave’s more than 2 million population.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.

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