Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands could trigger 3rd intifadha: Abbas' aide

Speaking to France 24 Arabic on Saturday, Nabil Shaath said that the two major Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, which are based in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively, are in agreement about a new intifadha if Israel annexes the West Bank.

“When things flare up and it becomes a fully-fledged intifadha, we will see a combination of forces between Gaza and the West Bank,” he said.

Shaath also noted that he expected the potential Palestinian uprising to be funded by the Arab world.

The first intifadha, which took place in 1987-1993, involved Palestinian demonstrations, mass boycotts and general strikes as well as attacks on Israeli forces using rocks, Molotov cocktails, and firearms. 

The second intifadha featured many more pitched gun battles and bombings. It began in 2000 and lasted until 2005, leaving 3,200 Palestinians martyred and about 1,000 Israelis dead.

Israel's ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had announced July 1 as the date to begin moving forward with the scheme to impose “sovereignty” over about a third of the West Bank, including settlements and the fertile Jordan Valley.

The regime, however, failed to launch the land grab bid on the set date amid widening differences between Netanyahu and his coalition partner, Minister of War Benny Gantz.

Israeli Labor, Social Affairs and Services Minister Ofir Akunis stressed that officials were still working out the details of the plan with their American counterparts.

Akunis also said that he expected the annexation to take place later this month after US President Donald Trump issued a declaration on the matter.

The US president had already given Tel Aviv the green light for the land grab in his self-proclaimed “deal of the century,” which was unveiled in January with the aim of re-drawing West Asia's map.