Palestinians Warn Israel Of “Serious Consequences” Over West Bank Annexation

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM (Worthy News)– The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) warned Israel on Wednesday of “serious consequences,” if the Jewish state continues its attempts to annex parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley. “There would be consequences for this measure on the economic and political Palestinian-Israeli relationship,” said PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat.

He told the Palestinian Authority’s ‘Voice of Palestine’ radio station that the “situation must be dealt with seriously.” That was needed, he added, “In light of the persistence of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to implement the annexation plan and impose realities on the ground.”

Separately, the PLO Executive Committee “confirmed” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to renounce all agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States. It stressed that Palestinians would urge countries to take “punitive measures” against Jewish settlements and their products.

The announcement came amid reports that the Israeli army had reinforced its forces in what Palestinians view as the occupied West Bank. Israel’s additional troops arrived following a Palestinian decision to halt security coordination with Israel.

The Palestinians seek the entire West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. Israel says it wants to defend the 500,000 Jewish settlers in the territory it seized during the 1967 Middle East war. On Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu pledged to impose Israel’s sovereignty over parts of the West Bank in the coming months, perhaps as early as July. He initially focused on annexing the Jordan Valley, but now wants to extend that to all settlements in the West Bank.

In an apparent reference to the Israel friendly administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Israel had a “historic opportunity” to redraw the Mideast map “that could not be missed.” The PLO’s Erakat said he reached out to the international community to intervene. “The U.S. and Israel will not stop the annexation plan except under international pressure,” he stressed.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, claimed that annexation would violate international law. He vowed to use “all our diplomatic capacities” to stop it. France, Germany, and Britain have also expressed concern about the annexation plan.

Despite the standoff, some Palestinian officials claim international pressure will force Israel to backtrack on its “unilateral” move. “There’s room for optimism,” a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah, West Bank, was quoted as saying in The Jerusalem Post newspaper. “There’s a feeling that most of the world stands with us on the issue of annexation,” the official reportedly said.

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