RAMALLAH, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Thursday that the Palestinian side will take a legal and diplomatic approach in case Israel moves to annex parts of the West Bank.
The Palestinians have garnered international support to tackle against any threats posed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who announced that Israel would annex the Jordan Valley and impose its sovereignty over West Bank settlements, Malki told Xinhua in an interview at his office in Ramallah city.
He said "what Netanyahu said is not only related to the elections campaign, but springs from a clear ideological and political vision he has, and he was waiting for a suitable time to come out with such statements and has found it in the boundless support by the U.S. administration."
The foreign minister highlighted that if Palestinians find themselves facing such a move by Israel, they are ready to implement a plan with legal and diplomatic steps.
Palestine has a plan that was adopted by its leadership and it is ready to start it the minute it sees clear indicators that any forthcoming Israeli government would carry on such a move, Malki added.
The plan has been discussed at a high level in the Palestinian leadership after a special committee was formed for this purpose and its recommendations were submitted to and adopted by the leadership, Malki explained, without giving further details on the plan.
The 1,622-square-kilometer Jordan valley constitutes 28 percent of the area of the West Bank and is home to nearly 50, 000 Palestinians, including the population of Jericho city, which is two percent of the Palestinian population, according to official data.
The data shows that 31 Jewish-only settlements are built in the Jordan Valley, most of which are agriculture based, and resided by some 8,000 settlers.
Since its occupation in 1967, Israel set up some 90 military posts in the area and forcefully evicted around 50,000 Palestinians.
Palestinians consider the Jordan Valley, which is located in the east of the West Bank on the borders with Jordan, a vital and integral part of their future state for its strategic location and fertile lands.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently voiced his intention to impose Israeli sovereignty over the area for security concerns in the long run.
