Palestinian leaders warn Israel's new gov't against more annexation

ILLEGAL Israeli settlements are seen on the hilltops above the Palestinian village of Jaba in the West Bank on February 13. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- Palestinian leaders reacted with dismay to a coalition government deal struck by Israel's two main political blocs, warning Tuesday it could spell the end of any two-state solution.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party signed the agreement Monday in Jerusalem, under which Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months and will be succeeded in the post by Gantz in October 2021.

The agreement ended 17 months of failed negotiations that resulted in three different elections, two last year and the most recent last month.

Under the deal, an annexation by Israel of 30 percent of what's known as "Area C" in the West Bank could begin as soon as July.

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking to cabinet members in teleconference Monday, cautioned the Israeli coalition against new annexations.

Palestinian Liberation Organization Secretary General Saeb Erekat warned that any annexation by the new government "means the end of any possibility for a negotiated solution."

"It is an international responsibility to hold the new Israeli government accountable and to demand full implementation of its obligations under international law and signed agreements," he said in a statement.

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The Israeli coalition has two options, he added -- either "open the doors for a meaningful peace process" or further "jeopardize any hope for peace."

PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi also blasted the coalition deal.

"The Israeli political establishment has united on the agenda of permanent colonization and annexation," she said, adding that "it is now very clear that Israeli political parties are unequivocally committed to the entrenchment and permanence of the conflict" with the backing of the Trump administration.

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Gantz and Netanyahu support U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan, which calls for swapping occupied West Bank territory for a future Palestinian state. That proposal has been rejected by Palestinian leaders.