Palestine rejects Israeli annexation plan whether partial or complete: Abbas

RAMALLAH - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that the Israeli plan of annexing parts of the West Bank is rejected, whether it is partial or complete.

Abbas's announcement was made in a telephone conversation with Simonetta Sommaruga, president of the Swiss Confederation, the official WAFA news agency reported.

The report said that Abbas stressed that the Palestinians reject the US Mideast peace plan, adding that it violates all the international resolutions.

The Swiss president said that Switzerland opposes any unilateral actions or any changes that violate international law and the international legitimacy, and called for Israel and the Palestinians for a dialogue.

Sommaruga told Abbas that her country will continue providing support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, mainly in the field of health to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

In another development, during an online meeting with 40 British lawmakers, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye accused Israel of planning to dissolve the Palestinian Authority (PA), adding that the Palestinians will not let Israel do so "because the PA was the result of the Palestinian struggle."

"The Israeli annexation plan threatens the existence of the Palestinian people and their just cause and also threatens security and stability in the region," said Ishtaye.

The Israeli government is planning to annex more than 30 percent of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. It also plans to impose sovereignty on several Israeli settlements in the territory.

Tension between the two sides has mounted after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his annexation plan will be implemented on July 1.