Hamas and Fatah have agreed to unite to confront Israel’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, they said in a statement yesterday.
Saleh al–Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, and Major General Jibril Rajoub, secretary of Fatah‘s Central Committee (FCC), took part in talks, with the Fatah official saying the reaction to the annexation decision showed a popular consensus to counter the plan, adding unity “will inspire us to build a strategic vision, to lead the street”.
“We want to open a new page with Hamas and introduce a new model for our people and families, especially since the regional position has not dealt in any way with the annexation project,” al-Arouri added.
#PalestineChronicle Explains: What You Need to Know about #Israel’s #Annexation Plan https://t.co/JMPrKoVLhF via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/P3Eu6Yb82Z
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 2, 2020
Rajoub called on “the Arab and Islamic world to respect the decisions of the Arab summits regarding normalisation and not to establish relations with the occupation, because there are those who want to use us as a bridge to have ties with Israel, either secretly or in public.”
“Netanyahu and his failed government are in a state of contradiction with the international community, and it is our duty today in Fatah and Hamas to keep this state of contradiction in place.”
#Vatican Summons #US, #Israeli Ambassadors over #Netanyahu’s #Annexation Plans https://t.co/3ExbRsWZa3 via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/LaxazF7YdF
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 2, 2020
For his part, Al-Arouri said that “all contentious issues will be frozen, and we will overcome it for the sake of a strategic and substantive agreement to resist the occupation.”
Annexation is the term used when a state decides to unilaterally declare and transfer its political, legal, and military sovereignty over a portion of land belonging to another state.
The #PA has Played Its Part to Normalize #Israel’s #Annexation Plans https://t.co/9f1oLXvgoV via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/nFpcMiNGcD
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 2, 2020
After World War II, the United Nations resoundingly rejected the practice, proclaiming annexation through military force to be illegal.
Over the last few months, Netanyahu repeatedly promised to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. This includes large swathes of the already occupied West Bank and parts of the strategic Jordan Valley.
The idea began to take form in a tangible way following the Trump Administration’s announcement of the so-called Deal of the Century on January 28, which allows Israel to seize parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, and grants Palestinians a ‘state’ on the disjointed parts of whatever remains of the West Bank.
(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)
