‘A knife in the back’: Palestinian authorities stunned as Arab leaders quietly accept annexation

After report reveals that Arab world leaders are quietly accepting the annexation plan, Palestinian authorities demand an explanation.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

After a report emerged yesterday alleging that influential Arab world leaders are quietly accepting the Israeli annexation of parts of the Jordan Valley and Judea and Samaria, Palestinian leaders are outraged.

Senior officials from the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian governments spoke to Israel Hayom and confirmed that despite public statements condemning annexation, Arab world leaders are more concerned about Iranian influence in the region and maintaining close ties with the U.S. than annexation.

While many of the leaders have spoken out against annexation, senior officials said that none of the leaders are planning on ending peace treaties or taking concrete action to prevent Israel from moving forward with the plan.

In light of the report, a senior PA official said to Israel Hayom, “If Arab states allow annexation of the Jordan Valley and West Bank, it’s nothing less than a knife in the back of the Palestinians.”

Fatah officials say they will ask Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to demand an emergency summit from the Arab League, asking Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to clarify their states’ position on annexation, and vehemently deny that they are allowing annexation to move forward.

Dr. Saeb Erekat, PLO Executive Committee Chair and senior advisor to Abbas, spoke to Radio Kol Falastine yesterday, warning that “Abu Mazen [Abbas] is working day and night, trying to save the peace process.”

“The following weeks will determine whether the next decades will be peaceful, or if we will have decades of violence and war.”

Speaking to Israel Hayom, Erekat said, “We need explanations, but we’re certain that Arab states will not allow the annexation process to happen.”

The revelation that many Arab world leaders have given a subtle green light to the annexation plan comes on the heels of warming ties between Israel and Arab countries.

Last December, senior government officials from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. met for a clandestine summit at the White House, primarily to discuss strategy on Iran.

Israel’s Channel 13 News reported, “The meeting, which took place on Dec. 17, is one in a series of steps from the Trump administration to facilitate closer ties between Israel and the Arab states. It included discussion of a UAE-Israel nonaggression pact — an interim step on the way to diplomatic normalization.”

In March 2019, Emirati Minister of State Anwar Mohammed Gargash spoke out about Israel’s place in the region, saying that Arab policy to shun Israel had been a mistake.

“Many, many years ago, when there was an Arab decision not to have contact with Israel, that was a very, very wrong decision looking back,” Gargash told The National, a UAE-based English-language news service.