Saeb Erekat
Saeb ErekatFlash 90

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), warned on Saturday against Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley.

Speaking during a meeting with German parliamentarian Roderich Kiesewetter at his office in Jericho, Erekat said, according to the Wafa news agency, that if the decision to annex the Jordan Valley is implemented by force, it would open the doors for other countries that have the power to make changes to alter their borders by force and coercion, which would drag the international community into a cycle of interminable conflicts.

The PLO official added that any attempts to appease Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump’s administration, whatever their source, justifications, and goals at the expense of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, including the right to defend themselves, are totally rejected and constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

Erekat stressed that the so-called US “Deal of the Century” is not a peace plan, but rather a plan for annexation, colonization, and apartheid, maintaining that all countries must reject it and strictly adhere to the pillars and foundations of the international law and UN resolutions.

He stressed that the majority of countries, particularly UN member states, are dissatisfied with their borders, which were drawn by guns and cannons.

Erekat affirmed the necessity to face the “conspiracy of the century” by holding a fully-fledged international peace conference in accordance with international law, UN resolutions, well-specified terms of reference, and the Arab peace initiative, that guarantee an end to the “Israeli occupation” and the establishment of the independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security on the basis of the 4 June 1967 borders.

The “Deal of the Century”, which was unveiled by Trump last month, has been rejected outright by the Palestinian Authority (PA), whose chairman Mahmoud Abbas said the plan would be relegated to the "dustbin of history."

In an attempt to bypass direct talks with Israel and undermine the US peace efforts, PA officials have been calling on European countries to unilaterally recognize “Palestine”.

While several European countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.