The Palestinian Authority arrested a number of Palestinians who expressed support for Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, according to French News Agency AFP. However, Palestinian Authority officials have denied the reports are true.
Israel can expect a third intifada if it moves ahead with annexation of parts of the West Bank, an advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said.
According to a survey conducted for the Shiloh Policy Forum, US President Trump’s Mideast peace plan would place hundreds of Jewish archaeological sites inside a future Palestinian state, CBN News reports. Among the sites concerned are Shiloh and an ancient synagogue discovered in Shomron, the Biblical capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told various officials over the past few days that he is considering a two-stage plan to implement Israel’s declaration of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley parts of Judea and Samaria.
Having rejected outright the Trump Peace Plan presented in January, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has now sent a counter-proposal for statehood to the diplomatic Quartet (UN, US, Russia and EU) that is mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Times of Israel reports.
The Palestinian prime minister says his government will declare a new Palestinian state, perhaps as early as next month, if Israel goes ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to run his administration to the ground to prevent Israeli from pursuing its plan to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, a senior Palestinian official told The New York Times on Monday.
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) says supreme Palestinian Shariah judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash appears to have authorized Muslims to kill Israelis, WND reported Sunday. Al-Habbash, who was appointed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a recent televised address that the Quran shows there are 10 transgressions against which Palestinians are commanded to fight: according to PMW, these transgressions seem to have “been carefully selected in order to turn every single Israeli into a target that every Palestinian Muslim is ‘commanded’ to fight and ‘allowed’ kill.”
The Palestinian Authority announced Monday it will continue paying monthly salaries to terrorists in prison, WND reports. In violation of recent Israeli law, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) said the salaries would continue to be paid through local banks in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
In response to Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, on Wednesday Palestinian leaders reconfirmed their decision to terminate all agreements and security cooperation with the Israeli and US governments, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) warned Israel on Wednesday of “serious consequences,” if the Jewish state continues its attempts to annex parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley. “There would be consequences for this measure on the economic and political Palestinian-Israeli relationship,” said PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat.
The Palestinian Authority’s push to replace the US as the sole broker for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process failed to yield immediate results as a Quartet video conference on the matter ended without any conclusions.
Russia is reportedly seeking to arrange a meeting in the coming weeks between US and Palestinian officials to help renew ties between Washington and Ramallah, which have frayed during US President Donald Trump’s presidency.
International opposition to Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank continued to gain momentum Wednesday as representatives of the UN, Russia, and the Vatican all expressed strong objections to the plan that could be implemented as early as July.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday said he was terminating all agreements with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation with the Jewish state, over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to annex parts of the West Bank.
Recent opinion polls unanimously demonstrate that around 90% of Palestinians reject President Trump’s peace plan, the Washington Institute reports. However, separate polls show different results on Palestinian support for a third intifada as a means by which to resist the plan.
Terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) announced Wednesday that they would boycott an upcoming Palestinian leaders meeting about Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported. Palestinian officials said Tuesday that representatives from the two groups had been invited to attend the meeting planned for Saturday in Ramallah.
The US State Department said Monday it was prepared to recognize actions taken by Israel to extend Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. However, this recognition would be ‘in the context of the Government of Israel agreeing to negotiate with the Palestinians along the lines set forth in President Trump’s [peace plan],’ a State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
As part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the IDF Coordination of Government Activities in the territories (COGAT), Israel allowed the entry of cattle and other goods into the Palestinian territories, according to a COGAT press release.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday appeared to have come to an agreement to end a major trade dispute in which both sides placed sweeping restrictions on some of each other’s goods.