RIYADH: Prince Faisal bin Farhan will become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the occupied West Bank on Sunday, a diplomatic source said.

The Saudi top diplomat will lead a delegation to Ramallah, a Palestinian embassy source said, the first such trip since Israel first occupied the Palestinian territory in 1967.

Prince Faisal`s trip was revealed as Israel vowed to build a `Jewish Israeli state` in the West Bank, after doubling down on plans to expand settlements there.

`A ministerial delegation led by the minister of foreign affairs will go to Ramallah on Sunday,` the embassy source said.

Saudi Arabia sent a lower-level delegation to Ramallah in Sept 2023, its first since 1967, not long before Hamas`s Oct 7 raid.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 throughout the territory.

Next month, Saudi Arabia and France will co-chair an international conference meant to resurrect the two-state solution at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Nearly 150 countries recognise 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 recognising a Palestinian state, but other European governments, including France, have not.

Saudi Arabia was said to be close to recognising Israel before the start of the Gaza conflict.-AFP