Palestinian officials slam Israel's annexation plan

Palestinian officials slammed on Thursday the Israeli plan of annexing Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee warned in a press statement that the Israeli plans of annexing parts of the West Bank "will undermine the two-state solution."

Ashrawi accused Israel "of exploiting its strong ties with the United States to carry on its historic injustice against the Palestinians, legally, morally, and politically."

Ashrawi also said that there has to be a multi-international consensus "to face the American-Israeli plans of annexation and the so-called Deal of the Century, to protect the legal rights of the Palestinians and reach a solution that guarantees justice, freedom, and peace."

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye said on earlier Thursday that the biggest challenge the Palestinians are facing "is the Israeli threats of annexing Palestinian lands which could be the last episode of the systematic destruction of the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state."

"The Israeli threats of annexing the Jordan Valley in the West Bank don't only undermine the two-state solution, but also threaten security and stability in the region and the commitments to the internal law and resolutions," he said.

The central committee of the ruling Fatah Party said in a press statement that the Israeli annexation plan "is aiming at liquidating the Palestinian question and the legal-political existence of the Palestinian people."

In Gaza, the Islamic Hamas movement said in a press statement that it rejects all the Israeli plans and projects which aim at liquidating the Palestinian cause, mainly the Deal of the Century and the Israeli annexation plans.

"The Palestinian people have the right to resist the occupation by all means, including the armed resistance which is for us a strategic option to defend our lands and our people," said Hamas.