GGC condemns planned annexation of occupied West Bank

DUBAI/JERUSALEM: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — comprising the wealthy Gulf States — on Wednesday condemned the planned annexation of parts of occupied West Bank, as Israel is trying to sabotage the upcoming conference on the two-state solution.

Also on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates warned Israel that annexation in the occupied West Bank would constitute a “red line” for Abu Dhabi that would severely undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised UAE-Israeli relations.

Earlier in the day, Israel’s far-right finance minister said maps were being drawn up for annexing territory in the occupied West Bank, land the Palestinians seek for a state.

At a press conference in Jerusalem, Bezalel Smotrich stood before a map that suggested the possible annexation of most of the West Bank with the exception of six large Palestinian cities, including Ramallah and Nablus.

THE FRENCH RESISTANCE

On Tuesday,  French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday criticised the United States for not granting visas to the Palestinian officials, describing the move as “unacceptable”, and vowed to move ahead with the plans on co-chairing — Saudi Arabia being the other host — an international conference on the two-state solution.

Read more: No annexation attempt will derail Two-State Solution push: Macron

“No offensive, annexation attempt, or forced displacement of populations will derail the momentum we have created with the [Saudi] Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] — momentum that many partners have already joined,” Macron said.

France and Israel have been at odds ever since announced the plan to recognise the Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly session.

Last month, he told Netanyahu not to weaponise the antisemitism issue and expressed his determination to establish a Palestinian state under the two-state solution — a stance that has been responded with wrath and ridicule by both Israel and the United States.

Read more: Macron hits back, tells Netanyahu not to weaponise antisemitism issue

‘RED LINE’

Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, told Reuters: “From the very beginning, we viewed the Accords as a way to enable our continued support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspiration for an independent state.

“We call on the Israeli government to suspend these (settlement) plans. Extremists of any kind cannot be allowed to dictate the region’s trajectory. Peace requires courage, persistence and a refusal to let violence define our choices.”

Nusseibeh added that “annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE” as it would severely undermine “the vision and spirit” of the Abraham Accords and end the pursuit of regional integration.

MAXIMUM TERRITORY, MINIMUM POPULATION

But Smotrich is thinking on the lines of Greater Israel.

Smotrich said he wanted “maximum territory and minimum (Palestinian) population” to be brought under Israeli sovereignty, urging Netanyahu to accept his plan that is being drawn up by a department under Smotrich’s supervision in the Defence Ministry.

“The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, to remove once and for all from the agenda the idea of dividing our tiny land and establishing a terror state in its centre,” he said, using biblical names widely used in Israel and the administrative name used by the state to describe the area.

“Who can defend a state with such small strategic depth? And this is why the goal of the sovereignty is to remove, once and for all, a Palestinian state from the agenda. And this is done when applying (sovereignty) to all of the territory, other than Arab population centres. I have no interest in letting them enjoy what the state of Israel has to offer,” he said.

Smotrich, a settler leader, has long called for annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which is among territories the Palestinians seek for a future independent state.