Annexation plan means end of two-state solution: PLO
A bill that critics say would amount to de facto annexation of Israeli settlements surrounding Jerusalem is expected to go before ministers on Sunday, drawing harsh criticism from Palestinians and those hoping to salvage the two-state solution.
The bill would absorb major Israeli settlements currently in the occupied West Bank into Jerusalem by enlarging the city limits.
Its opponents argue that it is a step towards full unilateral annexation of the West Bank settlements affected -- a move that would be sure to spark international outrage.
For the vast majority of the international community, the status of Israel's settlements, built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state, are to be decided in peace negotiations.
Approval by a ministerial committee on Sunday would fast-track the 'Greater Jerusalem bill's progress through parliament.
Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the plan could kill hopes for an independent Palestinian state.
Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee, said late Wednesday that "such efforts represent the end of the two-state solution."
Israel occupied the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War of 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.
It sees the entire city as its indivisible capital, while the Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.
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