UAE rejects Israel’s aggressive steps towards annexation
UAE REJECTS ISRAEL AGGRESSIVE STEPS, GARGASH SAYS
Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank mark a “serious escalation” that threatens the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said yesterday.
Israel intends to annex West Bank colonies and the Jordan Valley, as proposed by US President Donald Trump, with initial steps slated to begin from July 1.
Following a virtual meeting of OIC foreign ministers, the Pan-Islamic body said it “warns against the dangerous intention of Israel”.
The annexation threat amounts to “an official declaration by Israel of revocation of all its signed agreements” and “a serious escalation of its colonial policies and measures”, the OIC said in a statement.
The UAE also reiterated its rejection of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and its absolute support for the just Palestinian rights.
The UAE joined a long list of Arab and Muslim nations that have condemned the expected Israeli move, following the OIC meeting. Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said: “I participated in the emergency meeting of OIC Executive Committee to discuss Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank. We reaffirmed the UAE’s rejection of any aggressive step that violates international laws and harms the established Palestinian rights.”
Earlier, Gargash said: “Any unilateral Israeli move will be a serious setback for the peace process,” he wrote on Twitter.
Counter-proposal
He added that annexation would “constitute a rejection of the international & Arab consensus towards stability & peace.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan reiterated the move would represent a “dangerous escalation” that threatens the chances of resuming the peace process.
Palestinians have sent a counter-proposal for the creation of a “sovereign Palestinian state, independent and demilitarised” to the Quartet, made up of the UN, US, EU and Russia, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.