Russia rejects Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank

Russia has confirmed its rejection of Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, stressing that this would undermine the settlement of the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution, and especially the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement yesterday that Moscow and other countries that support the two-state solution share Palestinian concerns that the implementation of these plans may undermine the prospects of the establishment of an independent, viable and integrated Palestinian state.

The National Office for the Defence of Land and Resistance of Settlement in Palestine has warned that Israeli occupation authorities continue to implement their plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in Jerusalem, and take preliminary steps to extend the occupation’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the area to the north of the Dead Sea.

According to the data of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), approximately 51.6 per cent of the occupied West Bank is under Israeli control.

There were more than 150 settlements and 128 illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank at the end of 2019 in addition to 15 illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. They were home to 670,000 settlers.

All settlements are illegal under international law.

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