PA warns Israel against ‘annexing’ West Bank

“Netanyahu is the chief destroyer of the peace process and any foolish move he makes will leave negative consequences on him locally and internationally,” said PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh. 

“Palestine is not part of Netanyahu’s election campaign, and if he believes that annexing settlement blocs will bring him more votes in the short term, then he and Israel will be the losers in the long term.”

Shtayyeh’s warning came during a meeting in Ramallah with the Spanish Consul General in Jerusalem.

Shtayyeh called on Spain and other EU countries to accelerate their recognition of a Palestinian state in order to support the two-state solution, the PA’s official news agency Wafa said.

PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat expressed concern over Netanyahu’s intention and said that the “last thing Palestinians and Israelis need is to add fuel to the fire. We need to extinguish the fire. We need to make peace.”

Other Palestinian officials said that Netanyahu’s pledge to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley if re-elected was a “declaration of war” on the Palestinians and the peace process.

A PA official said that the Palestinian leadership will hold an emergency meeting in the coming days to discuss the repercussions of Netanyahu’s announcement. The official said that Netanyahu’s announcement means that the two-state solution is dead and the Palestinians will no longer abide bu signed agreements with Israel.