Jordanian FM Goes on Offensive against Israeli Annexation Plan

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi’s office says he has spoken to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in an effort to prevent Israel from annexing parts of the West Bank, which he called an “unprecedented threat” to regional peace. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has told members of his right-wing Likud party that mechanisms for annexing West Bank lands hosting Jewish communities, which most of the world sees as illegal, as well as the strategically important Jordan Valley will commence in July. He sees the move as an integral part of a peace plan proffered by the Trump Administration, although Pompeo and others in the administration have said such a move would take time and require cooperation from other countries, which for now seems less than forthcoming. Jordan has already said that any Israeli annexation moves would lead the Hashemite Kingdom to reconsider its 1994 peace treaty with the Jewish state. A top Israeli general has reportedly warned that annexation would lead to a spike in Palestinian terrorism, and on Thursday, the State Department cautioned US citizens traveling in or near the West Bank and Gaza Strip to already be extra vigilant.