Palestinian officials warn against Israel's annexation plan

Palestinian officials warned of the consequences of Israel's annexation plans on the chances of peace in the Middle East.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday that "Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank will not be allowed to pass", Xinhua news agency reported.

He stressed that the Palestinian leadership would never accept an alternative to a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, stressing that the Palestinian position and upcoming steps will be based on international laws and legitimacy resolutions.

Fatah party's Central Committee Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub said that Palestinians are ready to "move to another step of resistance if necessary."

"The Palestinian people will not suffer alone, nor die alone if Israel goes ahead with the unilateral annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank," said Rajoub.

He noted that Fatah movement has called on Palestinians to participate in a popular demonstration on Monday in Jericho, a West Bank city at risk of annexation by Israel.

Rajoub told reporters that representatives of the international community, including United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, will attend the activity on Monday and address the masses.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously set July 1 as the date to begin the annexation plan and apply Israeli civil law on Israeli settlements built in the West Bank. However, Netanyahu has yet to announce details for the move.

The annexation plan is part of US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, so-called "Deal of the Century" that was revealed earlier this year.

A joint US-Israeli team is working on the maps that will determine the demarcation of areas to be annexed by Israel, a move that has been strongly criticized by the international community.

Israel captured the West Bank territories during the 1967 Middle East war. According to UN resolutions, Israeli settlement activity is considered illegal.