>>Big talk. No walk.
France, Saudi Arabia in warning to Israel: ‘Any form of annexation is a red line’
Nations call for end to settlement activity and settler violence; Israeli official: US privately cautioned against annexation, but PM will discuss matter with Trump in Washington
By ToI Staff and Jacob Magid
Today, 3:08 pm
2
Saudi Arabia Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, left, and France President Emmanuel Macron, center, prepare to lead a high-profile meeting at the United Nations aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Saudi Arabia and France warned Israel on Monday against “any form of annexation” as potential retaliation for Western countries’ recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying it would be a “red line.”
A joint statement from the two nations after a UN summit they co-hosted aimed at promoting a two-state solution said they “urge the Israeli leadership to seize this opportunity for peace, and to issue a clear public commitment to the two-state solution.”
The two nations also called for an end to all settlement activities and settler violence.
“We reiterate that any form of annexation is a red line for the international community that bears serious consequences and constitutes a direct risk to existing and future peace agreements,” the statement said.
The UN gathering demonstrated overwhelming international support for the Palestinian cause and the unprecedented state of isolation that Israel finds itself less than two years after Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
“It is now time for the international community to move from words to deeds,” the statement read, welcoming the recognition of a Palestinian state in recent days by a number of Western countries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the recognitions as well as the notion of Palestinian statehood, and vowed to respond upon his return from the UN. Some government ministers are pushing Israel to annex part of the West Bank in response to the wave of recognitions.
Illustrative: Masked Israeli settlers hurl rocks at Palestinians from a hilltop in the village of Sinjil, in the West Bank, on July 4, 2025. (John Wessels/AFP)
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, San Marino and Andorra issued statements on their recognition of a Palestinian state at the conference. The UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal made their own announcements
recognizing Palestine a day earlier.
Both the US and Israel have argued that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time amounts to a reward for Hamas following the October 7 attack, which won’t advance efforts to release the 48 remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza, and which could well harm those goals.
The warning against annexation was just the latest from the international community — with the message being sent to Netanyahu’s government both in public and in private.
etc: timesofisrael.com |
