Palestinian PM demands international community immediately recognize ‘Palestine’

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accuses Israel of already taking annexation steps, calls on the international community to recognize ‘Palestine’.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh urged the international community to put an end to Israel’s annexation plans and to recognize a Palestinian state, Asharq Al-Awsat reported Thursday.

Shtayyeh spoke in Ramallah at a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee for Palestine where 40 donor countries and organizations met – mostly by video conference – to discuss Palestinian economic needs.

Israel’s bid to annex settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley is part of the peace plan proposed by Donald Trump. Parts of the plan call for Israeli sovereignty over most settlements, but also call for a future Palestinian state.

The Palestinians have rejected the proposal, saying they would sue the United States if the plans went ahead.

“We call on the international community to use all measures necessary to prevent annexation, including to recognize the State of Palestine on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Shtayyeh said. “The issue of [Israeli] annexation is no more an issue of announcement. Implementation measures have already started on the ground.”

In his remarks Shtayyeh alleged that Israel started to send electricity and water bills to Palestinian villages in the Jordan Valley, saying “annexation, if implemented, will be a grave violation of international law, UN resolutions, and the bilateral agreements we signed with Israel.”

Shtayyeh told the donor countries that the “plans of annexation are in full harmony with the peace plan presented by the U.S.”

“Israel is not committed to the agreements that have been signed with us. Consequently, the Palestinian leadership has decided that we are no more bound to these agreements,” Shtayyeh stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set July 1 as his target date to begin imposing Israeli sovereignty on Israeli settlements. That date, however, may be pushed off as the Trump administration is busy dealing with civil unrest and the economic crisis from the coronavirus pandemic.