United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, , has warned Israel against any move to annex parts of the occupied West Bank
While disclosing this on Monday June 1, 2020, Gargash stated that any unilateral move by Israel to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would affect the resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Continued Israeli talk of annexing Palestinian lands must stop,” Gargash said.
“Any unilateral Israeli move will be a serious setback for the peace process.
“It will undermine Palestinian self-determination and constitute a rejection of the international and Arab consensus towards stability and peace,” he added.
At a meeting of legislators of his rightwing Likud party last month, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirmed his intention to annex some illegal settlements and the Jordan Valley as early as 1 July, describing it as an “historic opportunity”.
Netanyahu has cited US President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, released in January, as underpinning his de facto annexation.
Despite Palestinian objections to the so-called “deal of the century”, US-allied Gulf states, including the UAE, have largely voiced support for Trump’s plan.
Last month, the Palestinian Authority (PA) rejected coronavirus aid sent via an Emirati flight to Israel, saying that aid must be sent in coordination with Palestinian leadership and not with Israel.
“There has been no coordination with the PA, so we cannot receive such aid,” the PA Minister of Health Mai Alkaila told a news conference.
“We are a sovereign authority. Coordination must be directly with us,” he added.
Israel and the UAE do not have formal diplomatic relations, despite their de facto alliance against Iran.
