Palestinians protest Israel's planned annexation of Jordan Valley and the West Bank

Palestinians decry Israel's planned annexation of parts of Jordan valley and the West bank

'Its the last nail to the coffin of a future Palestinian state'- Protesters

Despite a delay in the long-anticipated declaration of an Israeli plan to annex one-third of the already illegally occupied West Bank, including parts of the strategic Jordan Valley, Palestinians decried the plan with some holding protests in Ramallah and Gaza City.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a radio interview on Wednesday the announcement of the annexation plan was not imminent, despite the July 1 date set by the coalition government to start the fiercely opposed process. He instead told the interviewer to refer further questions about the matter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Still, about 150 Palestinian demonstrators gathered on Wednesday evening in the centre of Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, to denounce the plan. They said despite the postponed declaration, annexation was still on the table.

Carrying posters and waving Palestinian flags, the crowds chanted anti-occupation slogans such as "Down, down with the occupation", and "We will resist until full liberation. We will not leave."

Announced in January as US President Donald Trump's "Middle East plan," the proposal wants to establish a demilitarised Palestinian state on a patchwork of disjointed Palestinian territories.

While Israel's alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz said last week that annexation should wait until the coronavirus crisis is over, Netanyahu might still go ahead with it.

But Israeli military and intelligence officials have warned the move could cause an uprising in the West Bank, which would be a grave security risk for Israel.

Furthermore, the plan has been met with condemnation by the Palestinian public, their leaders and the global community alike.

"I'm angry because this is history repeating itself," said Zeina Mustafa, a 20-year-old student from Ramallah.

"The annexation plan is another Nakba [catastrophe] and Naksa [day of setback]," she added, referring to the 1948 Palestinian exodus that saw more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs expelled from their homes and an Israeli state declared, and the 1967 Six-Day War after that saw Israel take control of the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

For Belal Gaith, a 40-year-old resident of Ramallah, the annexation plan would push Palestinians further under a state of occupation and military rule.

"As soon as the annexation plan is declared, it will be the end of the Oslo Accords," he said, referring to the 1993 agreement which established the Palestinian Authority (PA) and gave it limited powers.

"We can potentially lose every single bit of our lands and live as prisoners under Israeli rule," he added.

Source: Al Jazeera