Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasReuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday threatened to cancel all agreements signed with Israel if it annexes any part of Judea and Samaria.

Speaking to an online summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Abbas said, "We have informed Israel and all international parties that if Israel, the occupying state, takes the step of annexing the Palestinian land, then we will renounce all the commitments, agreements and understandings with it and the American administration."

Clarifying his remarks, Abbas added, "That is, only if the Israeli government announces its intention to annex some or all of the occupied Palestinian land, then we will renounce all agreements signed between us and them and the US administration."

Abbas also accused Israel of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to implement its plan to annex parts of Palestinian land that has been "occupied" since 1967, and thus destroy the opportunity for a two-state solution and to establish a just and comprehensive peace.

PA officials are angered by the coalition agreement between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, which states that the government could apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria this coming July.

Saeb Erekat, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that “a government coalition based on a commitment to annex more occupied Palestinian territory is a threat to a rules-based world order in general, but to peace, security and stability in the Middle East in particular.”

“Annexation 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 stated.

On Sunday, Palestinian Arab NGOs announced they would be coordinating their moves in a joint action meant to thwart Israel's attempt, they claim, to “take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to establish facts on the ground and to continue its military escalation policy against the Palestinian people.”