Israel's ban on West Bank visit of Middle East countries' FMs draws multiple condemnations

China

Israel's ban on West Bank visit of Middle East countries' FMs draws multiple condemnations

2025-06-01 16:45 Last Updated At：23:37

Israel's ban on the visit of foreign ministers from six Middle Eastern countries to the West Bank has drawn condemnations from Palestine and other relevant parties.

As the Times of Israel reported on Friday, Israel decided to block a planned visit by foreign ministers from six Middle East countries to the West Bank, as a senior Israeli official confirmed.

The report said the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Türkiye had planned to visit Ramallah on Sunday and met with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The senior Israeli official said the Palestinian Authority planned to hold a meeting to "promote the establishment of a Palestinian state" and "Israel will not cooperate with moves designed to harm it and its security."

Mahmoud al-Habbash, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on religious affair, said on Saturday that the Palestinian leadership condemns Israel's interference in preventing the meeting between President Abbas and the delegation of the foreign ministers.

Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh said on the same day that Israel's move is a "dangerous escalation" and a reflection of "arrogant and provocative behavior." He added that Palestinian leadership is consulting with Arab partners on how to respond to the move.

According to a statement released by Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Saturday, the foreign ministries in the delegation from the five Arab countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar, jointly condemned Israel's ban on the planned visit.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Six-Day War. Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian territory, and its annexation by Israel is deemed illegal.

Indonesia issues RMB-denominated bonds of 9.25 billion yuan

Indonesia issued offshore bonds denominated in Chinese yuan, or dim sum bonds, totaling 9.25 billion yuan (about 1.34 billion U.S. dollars) in February, marking its second issuance of the yuan-denominated bonds.

The country issued the RMB bonds for the first time last October, with a total value of 6 billion yuan (about 870 million U.S. dollars).

The bonds were issued with maturities of three, five and 10 years.

Analysts point out that the competitive yield of RMB bonds will help Indonesia further optimize its financing structure and reduce capital costs against the backdrop of high global interest rates and rising financing costs in U.S. dollars.

"At the current situation, the global economies start to change and the financial sector is already evolving, also, and the RMB now is in the internationalization phase. So we see this is an opportunity for the Indonesian government to diversify and further lower the cost of funding," said Fakhrul Fulvian, chief economist and head of fixed income research with Trimegah Sekuritas, a company engaged in the brokerage and underwriting of securities.

"That demonstrates the depth, liquidity and attractiveness of Hong Kong's dim sum bond market, even for tenure as long as 10 years," said Handojo Wibawanto Soetikno, marketing director of Jakarta Branch of the Bank of China.

Dim sum bonds are RMB-denominated bonds issued outside the Chinese mainland, mainly in Hong Kong.