King Abdullah II of Jordan warned Monday that any Israeli unilateral moves to annex parts of the West Bank would “undermine the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East.”
King Abdullah’s comments were made during a virtual meeting between the Jordanian monarch and British foreign and defense parliamentary committee members.
Jordan king says Israel's annexation plans endanger regional peace https://t.co/8h7jgzJc2w
— Joe Catron ✊🏽 (@jncatron) July 14, 2020
“Any unilateral Israeli measure to annex lands in the West Bank is unacceptable, as it would undermine the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East,” the Jordanian King said, as quoted by Reuters.
According to King Abdullah, one of Washington’s main allies in the region, the only path to a comprehensive and lasting Middle East peace was the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on land illegally occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, and with East Jerusalem as its capital, Reuters also reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex nearly 30 percent of the total size of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Jordan Vally, an act deemed a stark violation of international law.
#Gantz to Visit #Jordan amid Tensions over #WestBank #Annexation Plans https://t.co/PkmVRHQ4ZL via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/mMRTTq2aRi
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) June 12, 2020
Although annexation didn’t actualize on July 1, a self-imposed deadline by Netanyahu himself, Israel remains adamant in its intentions to formalize the annexation of large swathes of Palestinian land.
Washington is supportive of the Israeli move, although media reports spoke of the possibility that Trump’s Administration may have requested that Tel Aviv delay its plans for an unspecified period of time.
Since Israel made its intentions clear regarding annexation, Jordan, along with the Palestinian Authority and a few European countries have mounted a diplomatic campaign to stop Israel from going through with the annexation.
‘Deal of the Century’ is War Crime: Canadian Lawyer Seeks ICC Investigation on Behalf of Palestinian Victims https://t.co/WiXONwIJNn via @PalestineChron
— Jala جالا (@jala_leb) July 3, 2020
King Abdullah had repeatedly “warned that Israeli policies along with (US President Donald) Trump’s peace plan (known as Deal of the Century) would lead to conflict and deal a blow to Israeli-Jordanian relations,” Reuters reported.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
