Palestine warns Israel, US over unveiling 'Middle East plan ' if Deal violates Int'l law

The Palestinian leadership vowed on Friday to reject the 'Middle East peace plan that will be unveiled by President Donald Trump next week in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and warned the US and Israel against announcing such a deal.

Nabil Abu Rudeinah, the spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that the Palestinian leadership will reject any steps by the US that would breach international law, Sputnik quoted the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Asking American administration to exercise caution against crossing the red lines while announcing the Middle East peace, Rudeinah said, "If this deal is announced according to these rejected formulas, the leadership will announce a series of measures in which we will safeguard our legitimate rights and we will demand Israel to assume its full responsibilities as an occupying power."

The spokesman once again called on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories seized since 1967 as well as to recognize the independence of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as the capital of the nation.

The statement by Palestinian Authority comes after the White House said President Donald Trump has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival Benny Gantz to visit Washington on Tuesday as 'Middle East peace plan' dubbed as "the Deal of the Century," would be revealed.

Israel's media reported that Trump's plan would recognize Israeli sovereignty over virtually all settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas severed ties with the Trump administration in 2017 after the US recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The last round of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians broke down in 2014 amid Israeli expansion of the settlements in the West Bank.

Israel seized the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and has since controlled or blockaded them despite international criticism. The Palestinians wish to establish an independent state on these lands with East Jerusalem as its capital.

( With inputs from ANI )