The reaction from several neighboring countries had already been clear, now the United Nations have also commented on Benjamin Netanyahu's recent election campaign.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has sharply condemned the plans of Israel's Prime Minister to annex the Jordan Valley. If implemented, that would be a grave violation of international law, Guterres said Wednesday. The chances of peace in the region would be considerably reduced by such a "devastating" decision and a two-state solution would be hindered.
Netanyahu addressed the local people on Tuesday in a live televised speech. "Today, I announce my intention to expand Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the North Dead Sea after the formation of a new government," he said.
The plan - the annexation of the Jordan Valley - could be implemented immediately after the parliamentary election, Netanyahu said.
The Jordan Valley accounts for approximately one-third of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. Israel sees it as an important defense barrier; Right-wing politicians emphasized in the past that they would never give up the area.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem annexed by Israel - in addition to three million Palestinians. The UN considers the settlements illegal.
Israel elects a new parliament on 17 September. According to opinion polls, Netanyahu's right-wing conservative Likud and the Alliance of the Center, blue and white, head-to-head in the election.
Even war crimes are critics
If Netanyahu actually implemented the announcements for re-election, that would not only mean the end of a possible two-state solution from the point of view of the Palestinians. Netanyahu's plans also destroyed "all prospects for peace," Palestinian Representative Hanan Aschrawi told AFP. The plans only left the Palestinians control of some cities, Palestine would be "erased," Aschrawi said.
The foreign ministers of the Arab League criticized Netanyahu's plans as damaging to the peace process. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called Netanyahu's planned action a war crime.
From Saudi Arabia it was said that Netanyahu's plans were categorically rejected. The announcement was a "very dangerous escalation" directed against the Palestinian people and a "blatant violation" of the UN Charter and international law, said in a statement of the royal family in Riyadh, on Wednesday by the state news agency SPA was disseminated.