An-Najah News - Britain, Japan and Norway have confirmed their rejection to Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, Said Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) yesterday

He added that during talks with representatives of the three countries, "Britain, Japan and Norway reiterated their rejection of annexation and affirmed their continued support to UNRWA, (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees).”

Commenting on his phone conversation with British Minister in the Foreign Office, James Cleverly, Erekat said: “Britain supports a rules-based world order, international law and, therefore, opposes annexation of occupied Palestine.”

The PLO official also had phone calls with Japan’s Middle East envoy Masaharu Kono and Norway’s envoy for the Middle East peace process Tor Wennesland.

Commenting on his phone call with Kono, Erekat said that the Japanese diplomat “expressed his country’s utter opposition to annexation of occupied Palestinian territory,” and that their phone conversation focused on Japan’s contribution to our government against COVID-19 and support to UNRWA.

As for his call with Wennesland, Erekat said that the Norwegian diplomat reaffirmed his country's support for international law and "opposition to annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.”

Erekat noted the Palestinians' appreciation of Norway’s “principled support” for UNRWA, the Palestinian government efforts against COVID-19 as well as the preparations for a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) of donor countries on Palestine.