This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Riyadh on Monday with Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh to discuss a US decision to revoke visas for a Palestinian delegation attending this month’s UN General Assembly meetings in New York, Anadolu reports.
A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said discussions between the two sides took up the latest Palestinian developments and ongoing efforts to support the Palestinian cause.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Sheikh hailed Saudi Arabia’s “firm position and its efforts to support the Palestinian people and their just cause at all levels.”
The talks also touched on a US decision to cancel visas for the Palestinian delegation ahead of the UN General Assembly meetings on Sept. 8-23, Wafa said.
READ: Former Saudi intelligence chief to CNN: Saudi Arabia cannot normalise relations with “war criminal”
Bin Salman and Sheikh also addressed the situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem amid Israeli attacks and settler violence, Wafa said.
They reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining close coordination between the two sides to address the ongoing challenges facing the region.
In late July, the US Department of State imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), denying visas to their members, including President Mahmoud Abbas.
The penalties came as several Western countries, including France and the UK, plan to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meetings.
Sheikh arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday for an official visit.
The visit comes as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing over 63,500 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
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 on the enclave.
READ: Italy, Saudi Arabia condemn unilateral, violent actions in West Bank undermining 2-state solution
