The Palestinian Authority held its weekly cabinet meeting on Monday in the Jordan Valley, an apparent act of defiance after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex the territory if he wins Tuesday's election.
"We will do everything we can to strengthen our people's steadfastness on our land, and to make the Palestinian Jordan Valley the vegetable and fruit garden of Palestine, as it was in the past," Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at the meeting in the Jordan Valley village of Fasayil.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Netanyahu's announcement that he would "apply Israeli sovereignty" over the West Bank territory drew condemnation from Arab and European leaders.
In Israel, the leader's comments were widely seen as a bid to sap support from right-wing rivals in a tightly-contested Sept. 17 parliamentary contest.
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.
Shtayyeh spoke at the start of a meeting, which is normally held in Ramallah.
Shtayyeh warned that if Netanyahu follows through on his annexation pledge, Israel "will have terminated all the agreements it signed with us." The western-backed PA exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security and economic issues.
The valley, which at 2,400 square kilometers (930 square miles) accounts for nearly 30% of the West Bank, has dozens of Palestinian farms as well as open areas that the Palestinian Authority has sought to develop for solar energy projects and industrial zones.
The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital.
