Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank is an " unprecedented threat to the peace process ," Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said Thursday, June 18, during a surprise visit to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. According to Ayman Safadi, such an annexation would risk plunging the Middle East into a " long and painful " conflict.
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The Israeli government must decide from July 1 on the implementation of the Trump plan for the Middle East, which provides for the annexation by Israel of the Jordan Valley and the Jewish settlements which represent about a third of the area of the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by the Hebrew State.
Jordan, the only Arab country with Egypt to have concluded a peace agreement with Israel, threatened last month to reconsider its relations with the Hebrew state if the latter carries out its plans for annexation. And King Abdullah II reiterated Tuesday his country's opposition to the project.
Thursday, the helicopter of the Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs landed at the Mouqata, seat of the Palestinian Authority, to convey the king's message to Mahmoud Abbas for this rare visit by the head of Jordanian diplomacy, moreover the first in Ramallah of a high foreign dignitary since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday June 18. THAER GHANAIM / AFP
“ Annexation is an unprecedented threat to the peace process. If there is an annexation, it will kill the two-state solution (a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, note) and destroy the very foundations of the peace process (...) Preventing annexation is is to protect the peace, "said Ayman Safadi at the end of his interviews. Jordan " will spare no effort and will do everything possible to support " the Palestinians and " protect the region from the consequences of a long and painful conflict if Israel annexed a third of the West Bank, " he added.
According to a poll released in early June, a majority of Israelis fear a third intifada (Palestinian uprising) in the event of annexation. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh warned him of a " hot summer " if the Hebrew state went ahead with his project.
Sixty UN experts this week called on the international community to oppose the Israeli annexation project while the Palestinians are trying to rally support for their causes and convince countries, especially European ones, to threaten Israel with sanctions. “ States have the duty not to recognize, assist or assist another State in any illegal activity whatsoever, such as the annexation or the creation of civilian settlements in an occupied territory. The lessons of the past are clear: if not acted upon, criticism will neither prevent annexation nor end the occupation, ”they warned.
In the newspaper Le Monde , a platform signed by Jewish personalities and organizations opposes the Israeli plan to annex part of the West Bank.