The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Dr. Nayef Bin Falah Al-Hajraf stressed the importance of the Arab League decision at the ministerial level in their extraordinary session Thursday, condemning Israel's plan to de facto annex parts of the occupied West Bank as "a new war crime" against Palestinians. The GCC secretary general reaffirmed the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the Palestinian issue as it is considered the first Arab and Muslim cause. The Arab foreign ministers statement after their extraordinary virtual meeting under the chairmanship of Oman said,"The Israeli government's plan to annex any part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and the lands on which settlements are built, represents a new war crime and adds to the growing list of Israeli brutalities against the Palestinian people and is in flagrant violations of the United Nations resolutions as well as of international law." The Arab League's condemnation of the Israeli plan follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement for the start of Cabinet discussions on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and annexing outright the area's Jordan Valley. The League called on the US administration to abide by the United Nations Charter and its resolutions on the Middle East conflict, uphold the principles and provisions of international law, and to refrain from supporting the plan of the Israeli government under the cover of the so-called American-Israeli deal of the century. As part of the plan, Israel aims to annex and seize occupied Palestinian lands by force, threatening to destroy the foundations and opportunities for desired peace in the region, the League said. It warned the Israeli government and the US administration to bear the consequences of their action which in turn will pose a risk to global stability, security and peace. The League also affirmed that the Arab countries will support, by all political, diplomatic, legal and financial means, any decisions or steps taken by the State of Palestine to confront Israeli annexation and settlement expansion plans. — SPA
