British PM urges Israel to halt West Bank annexation

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Israel to halt the controversial plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, writing on Wednesday in a Hebrew op-ed published in an Israeli newspaper.

“I profoundly hope that annexation does not go ahead,” Johnson wrote in a rare appeal to Israelis, published on the front page of Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Yediot Aharonot.

Johnson warned that annexation of parts of the West Bank, a territory seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and where the Palestinians wish to build their future state, will be “a violation of international law.”

He warned that if Israel will go through with the move, “Britain will not recognize changes to the 1967 lines, except those agreed between the two parties.”

Johnson said he was “fearful” that the annexation plan will fail to secure the borders of Israel and “will be contrary to Israel’s own long-term interests.”

He urged Israelis to return to negotiation talks with the Palestinians, which reached an impasse in 2014.

“It will demand a compromise from both sides,” he said, adding that the only way Israel will achieve security is by reaching a peace deal that “will enable justice and security to both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Johnson’s remarks came on July 1, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set as the target date for the beginning of the annexation of the Jordan Valley, part of the West Bank.