GENEVA: Israel’s aim to annex parts of the occupied West Bank is clearly “illegal”, the UN’s human rights chief said on Monday, warning that the consequences could be “disastrous”.

In a move condemned by Israel, Michelle Bachelet added her voice to the chorus urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drop a proposal to annex its West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley.

“Annexation is illegal. Period,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.

“Any annexation. Whether it is 30 percent of the West Bank, or five percent,” she said.

She urged Israel to “listen to its own former senior officials and generals, as well as to the multitude of voices around the world, warning it not to proceed along this dangerous path.” International condemnation of the possible Israeli annexations has mounted ahead of July 1, when the Jewish state could take its first steps towards implementing part of a US-proposed Middle East peace plan.

US President Donald Trump’s proposals, rejected outright by the Palestinians, pave the way for annexing key parts of the West Bank, including settlements long considered illegal by the majority of the international community. Bachelet urged Israel to shift course, warning that “the shockwaves of annexation will last for decades, and will be extremely damaging to Israel, as well as to the Palestinians”.

Israel’s foreign ministry reacted angrily to the statement, noting that it was “not the first time” that Bachelet “has politicised her office against Israel, in a one-sided manner.

“For a while now, Israel has lost any faith in (her) abilities to promote human rights in our region in a fair manner,” a spokesperson said, recalling that Israel had frozen its ties with Bachelet in February.

The UN rights chief meanwhile stressed that there was still time to reverse the annexation plans.

The precise consequence of the move were difficult to predict, she said.

“But they are likely to be disastrous for the Palestinians, for Israel itself, and for the wider region.” The UN rights chief warned that “any attempt to annex any part of the occupied Palestinian territory will not only seriously damage efforts to achieve lasting peace in the region, it is likely to entrench, perpetuate and further heighten serious human rights violations that have characterised the conflict for decades”.

Her statement cautioned that such a move would almost certainly lead to increased restrictions on Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement, as their population centres would become enclaves.

In addition, significant tracts of private land would likely be illegally expropriated, and even in cases where this does not occur, many Palestinians could lose access to cultivate their own lands.

And Palestinians who found themselves living inside the annexed areas would likely experience greater difficulty accessing essential services like healthcare and education, while humanitarian access could also be blocked.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2020