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Germany, Jordan and Palestinians: Blocking Israeli sovereignty now a priority

German Foreign Office: “Annexation would be contrary to international law.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas shakes hands with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the P.A.'s headquarters in Ramallah on March 26, 2018. Photo by Flash90.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas shakes hands with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the P.A.'s headquarters in Ramallah on March 26, 2018. Photo by Flash90.

In a joint statement on Wednesday evening, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that preventing Israel’s sovereignty bid was now a priority.

In the statement, which was released by the German Foreign Office following a joint video conference of the three, they went on to say that the application of sovereignty by Israel over any part of Judea and Samaria under the aegis of the U.S. “Peace to Prosperity” plan rolled out by U.S. President Donald Trump in January would be contrary to international law.

During the video conference, the three diplomats reiterated that “any future negotiations to reach the final status agreement must be based on international law and the relevant U.N. resolutions.”

The video conference and statement followed meetings on Wednesday between Maas and Israeli leaders about the possible ramifications of Israel extending its law to the Jordan Valley, and parts of Judea and Samaria, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to do as early as July.

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