Thousands of Jericho Residents Protest Israel’s Annexation Plan

Jerusalem, MINA – Thousands of Palestinians demonstrate in Jericho to protest Israel’s unilateral plan to annex the occupied West Bank and occupied Jordan Valley.

The rally on Monday (June 22) was also attended by dozens of foreign diplomats, including the UN peace envoy to the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, and European Union representative, Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff.

British, Chinese, Russian, Japanese and Jordanian diplomats were also present at the rally. Al Jazeera reports.

“Palestinians hope that by holding meetings like this, they will pressure the international community,” reported Nida Ibrahim of Al Jazeera, citing the presence of high-ranking officials.

“The demonstrators want foreign diplomats to talk to their country to pressure Israel not to move forward with its plans,” he said.

“They also want these countries to tell Israel that they will impose sanctions,” he continued.

At the Jericho Fastival event, Mladenov said, if the US-backed annexation plan was continued, it could “kill Palestinian peace and state.”

“The UN believes that the annexation is contrary to international law,” Mladenov said. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)