Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasReuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas threatened on Tuesday that all agreements signed with Israel and their resulting obligations would end if Israel annexes the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and any part of the “Palestinian territories occupied in 1967”, the PA’s official Wafa news agency reported.

His comments came in response to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's announcement that he would apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area after the election.

"We have the right to defend our rights and achieve our goals by all available means, regardless of the consequences, as Netanyahu's decisions contradict with United Nations resolutions and international law," stated Abbas.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also criticized Netanyahu’s announcement and warned that the pledge to annex the Jordan Valley would drag the region into violence.

"Netanyahu's intention to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea" would "push the whole region towards violence," Safadi said, according to AFP.

The United Nations, meanwhile, warned Netanyahu that his plan to annex the Jordan Valley if re-elected would have no "international legal effect."