Palestinians in the Jordan Valley said on Wednesday they vowed to never give up the West Bank territory that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to annex.
"We tell Netanyahu, and whoever follows him, you will not break the Palestinians' will. You will never break our will. Never, never," said Hassan Al-Abedi, a 55-year-old farmer who lives in the village of Jiftlik.
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"It's our parents' and grandparents' land. We will hold onto it no matter what it costs."
Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he plans to "apply Israeli sovereignty" to the Jordan Valley and the adjacent northern Dead Sea area if he prevails in what is shaping up as a tough battle for re-election on Sept. 17.
The plan drew condemnation from Arab leaders and Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in all of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Netanyahu's plans to annex the Jordan Valley and his frequent accusations against Tehran were ploys to win re-election, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.
"Netanyahu seeks votes to stay in power through accusations against Iran and later he announces a malicious intent to annex yet another part of Palestine so he can stay in power and carry on with expansionism and aggression," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying.
The office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the plan "would constitute a serious violation of international law.
"They would be devastating to the potential of reviving negotiations and regional peace, while severely undermining the viability of the two-state solution," he said.
Palestinian leaders said it would effectively nullify interim peace deals from the 1990s that included security cooperation.
Against the backdrop of Jordan's desert mountain range to the east, Palestinian farmers tended their crops and worried about their future in an area where the town of Jericho and the Jordan River are reminders of a biblical past.
"This is not Netanyahu's land to give," said Ismael Hassan, a 75-year-old Palestinian from Zbeidat village. "Whether or not Netanyahu succeeds [in the election], we won't accept it. This land is for Palestine, for the Palestinians."
In Israel, Netanyahu's declaration was widely seen as a bid to sap support from far-right election rivals who advocate the annexation of Jewish settlements, and from a center-left that for decades has argued that the Jordan Valley should be kept under Israeli control on security grounds.
Retaining the Jordan Valley would effectively leave Israel encircling any Palestinian political entity that emerges.
Crafting opinion
Following up on his speech with remarks on Facebook on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had persuaded US President Donald Trump to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and to relocate the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
The White House was informed in advance of Tuesday's annexation announcement, Netanyahu said, adding that he was "crafting opinion in favor of recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley."
A US official confirmed Washington had been notified but said the announcement was not coordinated.
Breadbasket, border
Some 53,000 Palestinians and around 12,800 Israelis live in the Jordan Valley, according to left-wing monitor Peace Now. The main Palestinian city in the region is Jericho, with around 28 villages and smaller Bedouin communities.
The valley, which at 2,400 square kilometers (920 square miles) accounts for nearly 30% of the West Bank.
"It's impossible to have a Palestinian state without the Jordan Valley," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters in an interview from his office in Jericho.
"My prosperity can come [only] if I can control my natural resources, my shores on the Dead Sea, my shores on the Mediterranean, my water, my land."
Erekat said the Palestinians would welcome "a third party presence" such as NATO or the European Union but said: "An Israeli military or civilian presence in the state of Palestine is not okay because this will not make peace."
Israeli leaders have ruled out such a foreign peacekeeper force, citing the failure of a similar proposal for Gaza after Israel quit that territory in 2005.
"We did not get an era of peace. We got three wars. We're not going to allow that to happen to our east," said Dore Gold, who runs the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs think tank.
Political gambit
The Trump administration is expected to release its long-delayed peace plan after Israel's election, and it is still unclear whether the proposal will adhere to previous US support for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
That rollout is unlikely to be affected even if Netanyahu goes ahead with the Jordan Valley annexation plan after the election, a US official said.
Palestinians have boycotted the Trump administration, accusing it of pro-Israel bias.
In an interview with Army Radio, Yamina party member Bezalel Smotrich expressed doubt over the premier's sincerity, saying there had been no movement on the Jordan Valley question during his decade in power.
"How come this matter [annexation] is coming up now, a week before the election?" he asked.
