Arab foreign ministers reject annexation as illegal, back 2002 peace initiative

The foreign ministers of several Arab states and the head of the Cairo-based Arab League have released a joint statement speaking out against Israeli plans to annex part of the West Bank and urging the international community to take action, after holding a virtual meeting on the matter.

“We reject the annexation of any piece of occupied Palestinian territory, and warn of the dangers of annexation as a violation of international law,” the statement reads.

It warns that annexation will “ignite the conflict and nourish extremism.”

يعقد @AymanHsafadi الآن اجتماعاً مع وزراء خارجية كل من #الإمارات #السعودية #مصر #المغرب #تونس #عُمان #الكويت #فلسطين والأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية بدعوة من الأردن لبحث المستجدات المرتبطة بالقضية الفلسطينية. pic.twitter.com/9h06IvDlCo

— وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية (@ForeignMinistry) July 7, 2020

The foreign ministers, who hail from Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the UAE, call for a return to negotiations toward a two-state solution and affirm their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which calls for normalization with Israel in exchange for a retreat from lands occupied in 1967 and the creation of a Palestinian state.

“We are committed to the Arab position expressed in the Arab Peace Initiative that the two-state solution, according to both the API and International Law, is the only solution to the conflict and the creation of a comprehensive peace and to embark on the creation of normal relations between the Arab States and Israel,” the statement reads.

“We will continue working with our brothers and friends in the international community to translate the vast majority of the international community’s rejection of annexation into movement to prevent it, and to relaunch true peace efforts which will lead to a just and comprehensive peace,” it says.