An Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank jeopardizes peace between Israel and Arab states, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat has said.
"Annexation means one thing: Peace will not be possible between Israelis and Palestinians” and between Israel and the Arab countries, he warned Sunday.
The PLO secretary-general said that Jordanian King Abdullah II’s recent standpoint reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to the legitimate rights of Palestinians.
“The two-state solution is the only way for us to be able to move forward,” King Abdullah told German magazine Der Spiegel on Friday, and, “if Israel really annexed the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”
Jordan is studying all the options for responding if Israel annexes part of the West Bank, he added.
King Abdullah’s stance doubled pressure on Israel amid a rejection for annexation expressed by the European Union, the Arab League, Russia, China, Japan, the UN Secretary-General, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the African Union countries, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Palestinian Authority counts on international and Arab pressure to hinder the Israeli government’s intention. “Experts in the defense establishment believe that under extreme circumstances, domestic pressures might even lead the (Jordanian) king to cancel the peace treaty with Israel,” Amos Harel reports in Haaretz.
There is an ongoing debate in Israel on the possible effect of annexation on ties with Jordan.
Major General Amos Gilad, who headed the Defense-Political Division of the Ministry of Defense, said: “The annexation plan is a blow that could harm Israel’s national security.”
In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed the annexation to take place before the Knesset’s elections. But he backed off in the wake of warnings from Israeli Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and head of the Shin Bet Nadav Argaman on how this step would impact ties with Jordan and the PA.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
