The United Nations, European countries and Turkey have called on Israel to back down from its plan to annex parts of the West Bank, while Washington is considering giving a green light to implement the plan that the occupation is expected to begin implementing next month, which Israeli authorities have warned could spark Palestinian anger.
During a remote session of the UN Security Council held on Wednesday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to abandon the plan to annex Palestinian lands in the West Bank, and considered this a violation of international law and a threat to the peace process.
Guterres said he would oppose any unilateral steps that would undermine peace in the Middle East, and called on the Quartet to resume its mediating role between Palestinians and Israelis.
During the same meeting, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolai Mladenov said that the Israeli annexation plan previously endorsed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is a violation of international law and distance the parties from the two-state solution and lead to more violence, calling on the Palestinian and Israeli leaders to return To the negotiations.
The current and future members of the European Union on the UN Security Council - represented in France, Germany, Belgium, Estonia and Ireland - expressed deep concern about the declared intention of the Israeli government to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, and urged them to abandon it.
In a speech delivered by the French delegate to the international organization, Nicholas de Riviere, the countries stressed that any unilateral decision of this kind will have negative consequences for the security and stability of the region, including the security of Israel, and will affect their relations with them.
Despite the support of more than a thousand parliamentarians in 25 European countries calling for decisive action to prevent any annexation of Palestinian lands, the European Union appears divided over the imposition of possible sanctions on Israel, despite its opposition to the plan, which was previously expressed.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoغلlu called on the Israeli government to halt settlement expansion and annexation schemes, which he described as illegal.
In a written statement sent to the Security Council session, Gawishoglu stressed that the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a flagrant violation of international law, and one of the biggest obstacles to achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.
These international positions come as the Israeli government begins discussions on the annexation process on the first of July, the size of which is expected to range from annexing large settlement blocs as a first stage and annexing up to 30% of West Bank land.
A green light
While what appeared to be tacit approval of the Israeli move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the Israelis are the decision-makers on this issue.
Pompeo expressed his hope that the Palestinians would return to the negotiating table, and Washington had previously said that the blame for the annexation was on the Palestinian side.
In the Security Council session, the US delegate to the United Nations, Kelly Kraft, referred to the concerns expressed by several countries about Israel's seizure of other parts of the West Bank, and called for the "accountability" of the Palestinian leadership on what it said were the actions it was responsible for.
In Washington, a US official revealed that senior aides to President Donald Trump are looking into the possibility of giving the White House a green light for Israel to implement its plan.
The US official said a meeting on the matter had taken place at the White House and included senior Trump advisers.
Among the main options discussed was that Israel initially declare sovereignty over several settlements close to occupied Jerusalem, instead of the 30% of West Bank land included in Netanyahu's original plan.
For her part, Killian Conway, the American president's advisor, played down concerns about the reaction of the Arab countries in the event that Israel annexed Palestinian lands, and said that the same expectations are repeated every time, and nothing happened.
Palestinian stance
Meanwhile, the Palestinian government and the two executive committees of the Liberation Organization and the central Fatah movement met in the village of Fasayil in the Jordan Valley, to confirm the rejection of the Israeli annexation plan for parts of the West Bank.
The occupation forces have deployed reinforcements at the entrance to the village and prevented officials from entering their cars, forcing them to enter on foot or by dirt roads.
While Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki assured the UN Security Council that any annexation by Israel of Palestinian lands would constitute a crime, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh told the island that the Palestinian Authority cannot continue without authority, and that the Palestinians are fighting for the sake of establishing a state.
Shtayyeh added that if the occupation wants to nibble any area of the Palestinian lands, this would jeopardize the Palestinian project.
For his part, the secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, said that a large international coalition that includes Arab, African and European countries supports the Palestinians against the Israeli annexation scheme.
On the other side, Acting Prime Minister and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier warned against taking steps that would harm relations with Jordan, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned last week that the annexation constituted an unprecedented threat to the peace process.