Vatican expresses "concern" over Israel's West Bank annexation plans

The Vatican is concerned about plans by the new Israeli government to annex parts of the West Bank, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said on Wednesday.

"The Holy See is following the situation closely, and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue," Gallagher said in a statement.

Gallagher's formal title is Secretary for Relations with States, but he can be described as the Vatican's foreign minister. He said he received a call from Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, who informed him "about recent developments in the Palestinian territories and of the possibility of Israel applying its sovereignty unilaterally to part of those territories, further jeopardising the peace process."

The Holy See hopes "that Israelis and Palestinians will be soon able to find once again the possibility for directly negotiating an agreement, with the help of the international community, so that peace may finally reign in the Holy Land, so beloved by Jews and Christians and Muslims," Gallagher added.

The European Union expressed similar concerns this week, with foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying the bloc "strongly urges" Israel to refrain from taking any unilateral decisions leading to annexation.

Israel's new government was sworn in on Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing the time had come to annex West Bank settlements pending U.S. approval.

The Middle East plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump in January calls for some 30 percent of the occupied West Bank to become part of Israel under any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

That plan has been rejected by Palestinians out of fear it will recognise Israeli claims to parts of the West Bank that they want for a future state.

Late on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared an end to all agreements and understandings with Israel and the US in response to the annexation plans, which could move forward quickly now that the new Israeli government has been sworn in.

However, it's unclear how serious Abbas' declaration should be taken, as it would mean the de facto dissolution of the Palestinian Authority, and he has made similar threats several times in the past.

Israel's Foreign Ministry did not comment on Abbas' statement.

Palestinian analyst Jihad Harb said that there were no changes on the ground on Wednesday to reflect Abbas' declaration.

Abbas has lost all hope in the peace process, said Harb. In light of this hopelessness, the chances of a new explosion of violence in the Palestinian Territories is high. Abbas "does not want this explosion to blow up in his face, so he's directing it toward Israel," he said.

With the declaration, Abbas "wants to send a message to the international community, particularly the EU, which invested billions of its taxpayers' money in the peace process and therefore would not want to see it fail," said Harb.    (dpa)