Israel seizes 95% of Jordan Valley: PLO

By Qais Abu SamraRAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Israel has seized 95% of the West Bank's Jordan Valley, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

Israeli authorities have intensified settlement construction in the region as "the beginning to implement annexation, theft and settlement plan", Saeb Erekat, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Executive Committee, said in a statement.

He pointed out that some 55,000 Palestinians live on around 5% of the area while 12,700 Israeli settlers control the rest of the land.

In 2019, Israel built four new settlements in the Jordan Valley and 110 units have been added to existing settlements, according to Erekat.

"Israel steals 94% of Palestinian water in the region," Erekat added.

In February, a U.S.-Israeli team began to develop a "precise map" of annexing parts of the West Bank, under the so-called U.S. peace plan known as "deal of the century".

On Jan. 28, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the so-called “deal of the century” to end one of the longest-running disputes in the Middle East.

Under the plan, Trump proposed a patchwork Palestinian state boxed in by illegal Israeli settlements as well as recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital."

The so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and suggests giving Israel almost everything it has demanded.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat