Esat Firat
08 July 2020•Update: 09 July 2020
JERUSALEM
Israeli police on Wednesday used disproportionate violence against Palestinians protesting Tel Aviv's annexation plan of the West Bank.
The police attacked protesters with plastic bullets, stun grenades and tear gas.
The protesters burned tires and pelted stones at them.
As part of US President Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced last month that his government would formally annex the Jordan Valley and all settlement blocs in the West Bank.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is viewed as occupied territory under international law, thus making all Jewish settlements there -- as well as the planned annexation -- illegal.
Palestinian officials have threatened to abolish bilateral agreements with Israel if it goes ahead with the annexation, which will further undermine the two-state solution.
The majority of the international community, including the European Union members, do not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over territories that it has occupied since 1967.
