The United States on Thursday urged its national staying in Israel to avoid travelling to West Bank and the Gaza Strip amid fears that annexation plans might spark a wave of violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told his fellow Likud party members that plans to annex strategic parts of the West Bank will go ahead as planned on July 1, leading many analysts to speculate the move could result in a violent Palestinian uprising.
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Tear gas fired by IDF troops falls among Palestinians protesting the construction of an outpost near the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, Oct. 17, 2019
(Photo: Getty Images)
"Violence can occur with little or no warning," the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said in a statement.
It single out army checkpoints, markets, and government facilities as targets of potential attacks. The embassy asked all U.S. nationals either living in the West Bank or planning to visit the area to maintain a level of vigilance and increase their security awareness.
U.S. government personnel and their families living and working in Israel are prohibited from travel for personal reasons in the West Bank and Gaza, the embassy said.
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Palestinian President Abbas announces end to agreements with Israel in light of annexation plans
(Photo: Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced last week in Ramallah that he was nullifying all past agreements signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and and suspending security cooperation between his forces and the IDF.
Jordanian King Abdullah, meanwhile, warned of a “massive conflict” last week in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.
“I don’t want to make threats and create an atmosphere of loggerheads, but we are considering all options. We agree with many countries in Europe and the international community that the law of strength should not apply in the Middle East, “ he said.