The European Union is seeking to persuade Israel to refrain from annexing parts of the West Bank, while the Union of Muslim Scholars considered the Israeli endeavors a "new Israeli aggression" and held the US administration responsible for it, at a time when the Palestine Liberation Organization condemned the American warning to the International Criminal Court against proceeding to investigate Israeli crimes In the Palestinian territories.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that a large number of European countries "supported a draft text I prepared with my Irish counterpart, Simon Koveni, in which we warn against annexation that would violate international law," but he regretted that "Hungary and Austria refuse Sign the declaration, which will not constitute a common position.
European Union foreign ministers discussed the draft text on Friday, during a video conference. It will be published tomorrow, Monday, by the Federation's Foreign Minister, Josip Borel, if the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his former opponent, Benny Gantz, is sworn in today, Sunday.
"We are not talking about sanctions, we are putting ourselves in a proactive position. This text is not offensive," Jean Asselborn said, adding that the text consists of four points. "We salute the new Israeli government, and we remember that Israel is an important partner of the European Union, but we warn that annexation of parts of the West Bank would violate international law," he said.
He added that "the European Union will cooperate with neighboring countries and countries in the region and reminds of its support for a two-state negotiated solution for sustainable prospects of peace between Israelis and Palestinians," and stressed that "there is no alternative to this solution and no one has offered another viable solution."
He stressed that "if Israel moves to actions and includes the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, then I do not see a difference from what Russia did with the Crimea" in 2014. He stressed that "violating international law has consequences", stressing that "the credibility of the European Union will be at stake" ".
"But I don't want to talk about sanctions now. We have to do everything we can to prevent this act." "We have two months, until July 15, to persuade Israel to abandon this project," he added.
Osborne warned that "if we cannot persuade Israel to abandon its plan, then the next one will be difficult." Federation Foreign Minister Josip Borrell has previously admitted that the European Union fears this test because it is so divided, and said, "The positions are very different."
While a European official acknowledged that "sanctions exist," referring to the possibility of freezing bilateral agreements, suspending scientific cooperation, canceling preferential fees granted to Israeli products and summoning ambassadors for consultation, he warned the EU foreign minister that "adopting sanctions in the European Union requires unanimity."
| Israeli peace activists demonstrate against the Israeli expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories (Anatolia) |
Meanwhile, the World Federation of Muslim Scholars called on the Islamic nation and the world to stand against Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank, blaming the American administration for what it described as "aggression."
This came in a statement by the Federation Secretary-General Ali Al-Qarah Daghey, published on his official website yesterday evening, in which he held the American administration responsible for this aggression, and accused Israel of "exploiting the world's preoccupation with the Corona pandemic, investing the US presidency standing with it with all its strength, and the weakness of the Arab nation and its silence." .
The Union affirmed its unwavering stances towards the Palestinian issue, which it regards as the first Muslim issue, and praised the stances of the countries that support the Palestinian cause, especially the countries that raised their voice by totally rejecting the expansionist projects of the occupation state.
On the other hand, Israeli crimes , the Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, condemned the American warning to the International Criminal Court against continuing to investigate Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories. He considered this position "a blatant interference in the work of the International Tribunal."
Erekat pointed out in a statement to Al Jazeera about the Palestinian rejection of this American stance that is biased towards the occupation, and stressed that the Palestinians are going to the end in submitting the files of Israeli crimes to the court, including Israeli annexation plans.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed his country's opposition to any investigations of the International Criminal Court in the occupied territories and described them as illegal.
This came against the background of the announcement by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that the jurisdiction of the court includes the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, thus accepting an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Israelis in the Palestinian territories.