International and European warnings to Israel not to annex lands in the West Bank

The European Union and the United Nations separately warned Israel against its efforts to annex lands from the West Bank, describing it as a violation of international laws and causing the elimination of the two-state solution. 

The European Union’s High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy Josep Borrell published a statement warning Israel of its settlement policies, stressing that the Union’s position on the settlement policy pursued by Tel Aviv in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 is clear and unchanged.

Borrell stressed that the union does not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the West Bank under the relevant Security Council resolutions, explaining that Israel’s efforts to annex more land are in violation of international law.

The European Union will continue
and Borrell stressed that the European Union will continue to follow closely the situation and take the necessary steps in this regard.

For his part, UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolai Mladenov warned the Israeli occupation authorities against annexing parts of the West Bank, saying that such a step would undermine the internationally supported two-state solution.

Mladenov said that the possibility of Israel annexing parts of the occupied West Bank poses a growing threat, warning that such a move would violate international law and would deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to the resumption of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace.

Deepening the gap
Mladenov called on the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to seize this moment to take steps towards peace. He also urged them to reject unilateral moves that would only "deepen the gap between the two peoples and undermine the chances for peace."

The outgoing Israeli Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and the head of the "Blue-White" coalition Benny Gantz, had signed an agreement to form an emergency unity government taking turns to head it, with Netanyahu starting first for 18 months.

The agreement also calls for starting a bill to annex the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank early next July.

Palestinian estimates indicate that the Israeli annexation will reach more than 30% of the area of ​​the West Bank, according to the deal of the century revealed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year and the Palestinians rejected and condemned by the international community.