The remarks came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party submitted a bill to the parliament (Knesset) that calls for the imposition of Tel Aviv’s “sovereignty” over the Palestinian regions of the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea area and the occupied West Bank.
Lawmaker May Golan from Likud handed the document to the parliament on Sunday.
He also stressed that the coronavirus outbreak in Palestine has been compounded by Israel’s “oppressive measures and colonial policies” as well as the detention of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli regime has been sharply emboldened by US President Donald Trump’s pro-Israel polices, the latest of which is a contentious plot unveiled in January with the aim of legitimizing Israel’s occupation and re-drawing the Middle East map.
The Palestine Liberation Organization says it reserves the right “to withdraw from the interim agreement.”
Trump’s self-proclaimed “deal of the century,” crafted to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, also calls for the creation of a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders.
The scheme — drawn up in close cooperation with the Netanyahu administration — bars Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland while enshrines Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley.
A recent Israeli coalition government agreement reached between Netanyahu and his main rival, Benny Gantz, includes a framework for implementing the illegal annexations.
The US has expressed its readiness to recognize Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank areas.
Recent reports, however, suggested the emergence of differences between Washington and Tel Aviv over the issue, with the US demanding that Israel make known its support for “two states for two nations” as stipulated in the deal, if it wanted the US to endorse its annexation plans.
