The new secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil Fahmy, said Wednesday Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah, in what would have been his first foreign trip since taking office this month.
The regional bloc's secretariat was informed by Palestinian authorities "of the Israeli occupation authorities' rejection of a visit... to the occupied Palestinian territories" to meet with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Fahmy's office said in a statement.
Abbas's administration governs parts of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Since the Gaza war began in 2023, the West Bank has been rocked by Israeli military raids, deadly settler attacks and the expansion of settlements, which are illegal under international law.
Fahmy said Palestinians in the territory "suffer siege in their towns and cities, surrounded by expanding settlements and settler-only roads, and are subjected to the brutality and terrorism of settlers who enjoy both the protection and encouragement of the occupying state."
The Egyptian veteran diplomat has taken the helm of the Arab League — a 22-member bloc based in Cairo — at a time when its function as a forum for regional solidarity has become concentrated almost entirely on the Palestinian cause.
Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,087 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, including both militants and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.
Official Israeli figures show that at least 46 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.
