Israel’s decision to block a Saudi-led delegation from visiting the West Bank earlier this week may have harmed the prospect of normalization between the two countries, a Saudi official warned on Tuesday.

A delegation comprising the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan had been slated to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday, but was prevented by Israel from visiting the territory.

The visit, which would have been the visit by a Saudi foreign minister since Israel took over the West Bank in 1967, had been intended to boost the legitimacy of the PA as a viable candidate to replace Hamas as the governing body of Gaza after the war.

Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster on Tuesday, an unnamed source within the Saudi royal family said that the prevailing view in Riyadh was that “Israel made a mistake in its decision” to bar the delegation from entering.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s behavior is improper; he is trying to protect himself because of his own interests,” the source was quoted as saying. “He doesn’t want peace, he only wants to make problems.”

The US has long backed efforts to establish ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the issue took center stage during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The push for normalization was continued by former president Joe Biden’s administration, but ground to a halt with the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Since then, amid fierce criticism of the fighting in war-torn Gaza, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has stressed that the kingdom will not proceed with any normalization agreement until the war ends and a viable pathway is established toward the establishment of a Palestinian State.

The Israeli government is unequivocally opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Netanyahu reiterating time and again his belief that it would be a “prize for terror” in the wake of October 7.

Alongside the goal of bolstering the ailing PA’s standing, the Saudi official told Kan that the purpose of the planned delegation had been to once again deliver the message to Israel that establishing ties was possible, but only alongside the implementation of a two-state solution.

“Saudi Arabia is reaching out for peace and Israel is simply pulling back,” the source said.