Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia is to become the first Saudi minister of foreign affairs to visit the occupied West Bank today, a diplomatic source said, as the Gaza war drags on and Riyadh pushes for Palestinian statehood.
He is to lead a delegation to Ramallah, a Palestinian embassy source said, the first such trip since Israel first occupied the Palestinian territory in 1967.
Saudi Arabia sent a lower-level delegation to Ramallah in September 2023, its first since 1967, not long before Hamas’ attack triggered the Gaza war.
Photo: Reuters
International backlash has been growing since Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in March, with a humanitarian crisis spiralling and the UN warning of famine.
Next month, Saudi Arabia and France would cochair an international conference meant to resurrect the two-state solution at the UN headquarters in New York.
Nearly 150 countries recognize the State of Palestine, which has observer status at the UN, but is not a full member, as the Security Council has not voted to admit it.
In May last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain took the step of recognizing a Palestinian state, but other European governments, including France, have not.
French President Emmanuel Macron in April said that France could recognize a Palestinian state this month.
Macron said at the time that he wished to organize the New York conference to encourage recognition of the State of Palestine, “but also a recognition of Israel from states that currently do not.”
Saudi Arabia was said to be close to recognizing Israel before the start of the Gaza war.
US President Donald Trump during a visit to Riyadh this month called Saudi normalization with Israel “my fervent hope and wish, and even my dream.”
In September last year, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated clearly that Saudi Arabia would not recognize Israel without an independent Palestinian state.
This position was reaffirmed in November at a joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit, where Israel was accused of “genocide” in Gaza.
In the sweltering streets of Jakarta, buskers carry towering, hollow puppets and pass around a bucket for donations. Now, they fear becoming outlaws. City authorities said they would crack down on use of the sacred ondel-ondel puppets, which can stand as tall as a truck, and they are drafting legislation to remove what they view as a street nuisance. Performances featuring the puppets — originally used by Jakarta’s Betawi people to ward off evil spirits — would be allowed only at set events. The ban could leave many ondel-ondel buskers in Jakarta jobless. “I am confused and anxious. I fear getting raided or even
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