Palestinians To Declare State If Israel Annexes West Bank Part
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – The Palestinian prime minister says his government will declare a new Palestinian state, perhaps as early as next month, if Israel goes ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
Mohammed Shtayyeh warned Tuesday that the state would be based on lines drawn before the 1967 Six-Day War, which put Israel against Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. After its victory, Israel also claimed the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and the Golan Heights, including East Jerusalem. Shtayyeh said he would ask for international recognition of the Palestinian state.
He spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz agreed to move towards the annexation of parts of the West Bank.
The coalition deal signed between Netanyahu’s Likud party and Gantz’s Blue and White allows the prime minister to begin moving forward with annexation on July 1. He has pledged to annex all the Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley — some 30 percent of the West Bank.
PEACE PLAN
The parts of the West Bank that Israel would extend sovereignty over are those mentioned under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan. “We are facing the moment of truth,” Shtayyeh told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “Nowhere on Earth can we live with this annexation.”
Palestinian officials told media they plan to take several steps toward statehood. That would reportedly include cutting salaries and funding in the Gaza Strip, the self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt.
“We are not nihilists or fools, and we don’t want chaos,” added Hussein al-Sheikh, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “We are pragmatic. We don’t want things to reach a point of no return. Annexation means no return in the relationship with Israel.”
Amid the tensions, Jordanian officials, including the kingdom’s prime minister and foreign minister, have reportedly threatened to reconsider their treaties and agreements with Israel in the event of annexation.
Israeli media said Jordan would recall its ambassador back to Amman as a first step if annexation goes ahead. Jordan was also expected to help Palestinians work against Israel in international fora.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz is due to visit Jordan to discuss the tensions, several media reported.
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