Former world leaders warn against Israel’s annexation plans

UNITED NATIONS: A group of former world leaders urged European leaders on Friday to keep pressuring Israel against annexation of parts of the West Bank, warning against complacency after Israel made no move to take over the territory on July 1.

The Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, said in letters to the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and the European Union that they should insist to Israel that annexation would have negative political and economic consequences for bilateral relations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had aimed to start the process by Wednesday, saying he wanted to begin annexing West Bank territory in line with President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan.

But Israeli Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said the annexation process had been delayed, telling Israel’s Army Radio station on Wednesday that officials were still working out the final details with their American counterparts. He said he expected the annexation to take place later in July.

The two-state solution, backed by the U.N. Security Council and the vast majority of the international community, envisions an independent Palestinian state in the entire West Bank — territory Israel captured from Jordan in 1967 — and Gaza, with agreed land swaps.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their state but the future of Jerusalem is considered a final status issue to be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The Trump administration’s peace plan, unveiled in January, envisions bringing some 30% of the West Bank under permanent Israeli control and gave a green light for Israel to annex that territory. The Palestinians have vehemently rejected the plan as pro-Israeli.