Palestine seeks int’l coalition against Israel annexation plan

Ramallah, July 6 (IANS) Palestine has said that it was seeking to build an international coalition to block the Israel’s annexation plan of the West Bank through diplomatic efforts worldwide.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Palestine has been mobilizing efforts with several countries within the UN General Assembly in order to establish an international coalition against the Israeli plan, reports Xinhua news agency.

Erekat told the official Voice of Palestine radio that the coalition will aim to hold Israel accountable if it presses ahead with its annexation plan.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been in contact with world leaders over the consequences of the Israeli annexation plan and the aftermath of Palestine’s decision to abolish all agreements with Israel and the US, according to Erekat.

“Under the annexation plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin wants to turn the Palestinian Authority into a service provider and an instrument for the perpetuation and continuation of the occupation,” Erekat noted.

Netanyahu’s government has said that it could start annexing the Jordan Valley, which makes up some 30 per cent of the West Bank, as early as July.

The territory was seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestinians, who claim all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, have rejected the idea.

More than 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

It however, remains unclear whether the Israeli government will follow through with its plan to apply Israeli law over disputed territories in the West Bank and to what extent.

–IANS

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