Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his election campaign promised to annex the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank in case he’s re-elected to the office in next week’s general election, drawing sharp criticism from across Middle East including Saudi Arabia. “Today, I announce my intention, after the establishment of a new government, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea,” Netanyahu said in a speech broadcast live on Israeli TV on Tuesday. He said, the step could be taken “immediately after the election if I receive a clear mandate to do so from you, the citizens of Israel”. Some 65,000 Palestinians and about 11,000 Israeli settlers live in the area-the valley and the northern Dead Sea constitute almost 30 percent of the West Bank. – most of which is under Israeli military control in what is referred to as Area C. In a closely contested election to win back Knesset, Netanyahu – who is fighting for his political life reiterated and reaffirmed his pledge to annex all Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank, but immediately retracted from unilateralism as he said such a move would not be made before publication of a long-awaited United States peace plan and consultations with President Donald Trump “There is no change in United States policy at this time,” a US official said when asked to comment on whether there’s a support by White House on Netanyahu’s move. “We will release our Vision for Peace after the Israeli election and work to determine the best path forward to bring long-sought security, opportunity and stability to the region.” Earlier,in 2017 US president Trump in a controversial move decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing the disputed territory as the capital of Israel, reversing decades of US policy. The Palestinian leadership has since declared the US cannot be an honest peace broker in negotiations with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement if Israeli Prime Minsister went through with the move “all signed agreements with Israel and the obligations resulting from them would end”. Israeli leader was called “a prime destroyer of the peace process”,by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. “The Palestinian territory is not part of Netanyahu’s election campaign,” Shtayyeh said. Arab League foreign ministers condemned Netanyahu’s plan, saying it would undermine any chance of progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace. Saudi Arabia said it considered the declaration a”violation of international law and a “very dangerous escalation against the Palestinians”. It called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation foreign ministers to discuss the move. The 2,400-square kilometre Jordan Valley, which Palestinians seek for the eastern perimeter of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stretches from the Dead Sea in the south to the Israeli city of Beit Shean in the north. Israel has long said it intends to maintain military control there under any peace agreement with the Palestinians. It captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. Annexing settlements would likely spell the end of any lingering hopes of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu made no mention of what he would do with the territory’s more than two million Palestinian residents. Shortly after Netanyahu announced the plan to annex another part of the West Bank, rockets were fired from the Palestinian territory of Gaza, prompting the Israeli military to fire back and hit 15 targets, including a supposed weapons-factory facility. There were no immediate reports of casualties