Jean Asselborn, the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, has voiced grave concern over Israel’s plan to annex the Jordan Valley region to its sovereignty, saying such an annexation will be a blow to the two-state solution.
“First and foremost, I am concerned that annexation will represent a lethal blow to the two-state solution,” he told Israeli daily Israel Hayom. “It could lead to the creation of one state founded on inequality and eternal conflict. Second, I am opposed to annexation as a matter of principle, anywhere in the world, because it is a gross violation of international law.”
“Annexation will contribute to the collapse of the global order, based on a system of laws we constructed in the wake of the Second World War,” added Asselborn.
“It is not my business to comment on the details of the plan, which was presented by Mr. Trump. I will only note two things: First – this plan deviates from the recognized international parameters.”
He continued, “The Palestinian Authority wasn’t consulted during the plan’s formulation. After all, a decision on the future of a nation cannot be made if it is not represented at the negotiating table. This would be a type of return to the Sykes-Picot approach (the secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France to define their spheres of influence in the Middle East following the First World War).”
He said the solution “must be predicated on respect for international law, the relevant resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and Security Council, and the agreed-upon international parameters.”
Asselborn said it was too early to talk about sanctions, but “we hope there won’t be an annexation and we are working vigorously to prevent the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories. We are banking on prevention.”