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UN Official Warns Against Israeli Annexation of Part of West Bank

Linda Gradstein

   JERUSALEM - As the July 1 date for Israel's annexation of part of the
   West Bank approaches, international officials warn that the move would
   be a violation of international law. The head of the Arab League said
   that if Israel goes ahead it could spark a religious war, and Hamas in
   Gaza said the annexation would be a declaration of war.

   Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, U.N. Special Envoy to the Middle
   East Nikolay Mladenov spoke out strongly against the planned Israeli
   annexation of part of the West Bank.

   "It is our assessment that this move is not only against international
   law but will seriously upend the relationship between the state of
   Israel and the Palestinian Authority and between Israelis and
   Palestinians in general. We are now in the midst of a global pandemic,
   we are in the beginning of a global economic recession, we live through
   times in which national identities, perhaps more than in the past, have
   become a driving force in politics around the world, and we are very
   concerned that any such moves will have economic and security
   repercussions on the ground and will affect the lives of Israelis and
   Palestinians."

   The Trump administration's Middle East peace plan, proposed in January,
   allows Israel to annex up to 30 percent of the West Bank. Israeli Prime
   Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it is a rare opportunity for
   Israel and he plans to annex at least some of the 130 Jewish
   settlements located there.

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