Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Ashtiyeh announced on Tuesday that the Palestinians had submitted a "counter proposal" to the American peace plan in the Middle East, which supports annexing Israel to parts of the occupied West Bank, and they called for pressure on Israel to discourage it from annexation.

"We submitted a counter proposal to the Quartet a few days ago," Ashtiyeh said.

According to the prime minister, the four-and-a-half-page proposal provides for the creation of a "sovereign, independent and demilitarized Palestinian state".

The Quartet includes the European Union, the United Nations, Russia and the United States of America.

Ashtiyeh said in a meeting with foreign media in the city of Ramallah that the Palestinian proposal also includes making "minor adjustments to the borders when necessary."

The Prime Minister mentioned possible land exchanges between the two countries.

But he added that the exchange would be "equal" in terms of the "size and value" of the land.

In late January, US President Donald Trump announced a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians stipulating Israel's annexation of settlements in the West Bank as well as the Jordan Valley.

The Palestinians categorically rejected the plan.

The Jordan Valley is a strategic area, and it is considered the "food basket" for the Palestinians, as it constitutes one third of the area of ​​the West Bank that Israel occupied in the year 1967.

According to the American plan, a demilitarized Palestinian state could be established on a small area without East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians consider their capital.

The Palestinians have cut ties with the US administration since Washington recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.

For his part, Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, confirmed to Agence France-Presse that he had handed over a message from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

According to Erekat, the letter includes a call to "form an international coalition against annexation, and to hold a meeting of all countries that reject the Israeli plan."

He added that the letter also called for "the necessity of upholding international law and a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders."

The European Union opposes the annexation process and asked the Israeli government, which is due to present its strategy on its implementation in early July, to abandon this step.

Diplomatic sources say that EU member states are considering options such as economic sanctions or recognition of a Palestinian state to discourage Israel from moving forward with the plan, and what measures should be taken if it does not back down from the annexation.

"The recognition (of a Palestinian state) is a preventive measure against the annexation scheme and the sanctions are an additional step," Shtayeh said.

"We want Israel to feel international pressure (...) for the first time, European politicians are discussing sanctions against Israel because we asked for them," he added.

"Anger exists, dissatisfaction exists, and frustration exists, all of which pave the way for upcoming problems."

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