Israel's application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley will be more limited and less broad in scope than originally planned – moderate Arab countries have been telling senior Palestinian officials recently, Arab diplomatic sources confirmed to Israel Hayom.
The sources emphasized that Israeli and American officials in Jerusalem and Washington have made up their minds to implement sovereignty between July and September. A senior official in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' bureau also confirmed the details, saying the messages were delivered to Abbas and his advisers via senior officials from moderate Arab countries at the request of Israel and the American administration.
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According to one senior Arab official, Abbas and his senior advisers were told that Israeli sovereignty in parts of Judea and Samaria was a "foregone conclusion, but that due to appeals by moderate Arab leaders, chief among them Jordan's King Abdullah, to soften the manner in which sovereignty is applied, it was decided in Jerusalem and Washington to implement the initiative gradually pursuant to a more flexible timetable."
The official added that Israeli sovereignty would initially be applied in "large swathes of the Jordan Valley, where the population is almost exclusively Jewish." The purpose of this measure, the official said, was to prevent Palestinians from relocating to the annexed areas of the Jordan Valley in an attempt to gain Israeli citizenship.
A senior official in Abbas' bureau, who also confirmed the details, told Israel Hayom: "The reports that Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have tacitly agreed to the Israeli annexation plan, and the Palestinian criticism of these countries, have been a source of discomfort for the Arab leaders who don't want internal unrest in their countries over [Israel's] implementation of sovereignty. Due to the fact that the plan has garnered criticism in Israel from the left, and mainly from the right, a proposal was raised to implement the plan on a limited basis according to a flexible timetable, rather than all at once. The proposal received the support of Jerusalem and Washington, and in recent talks between senior Americans and senior officials in moderate Arab countries, the Americans requested to deliver the aforementioned messages to the Palestinians."
The senior Palestinian official added that according to the messages, the application of sovereignty in the large settlement blocs will be carried out at later stages, not this July, and will initially include Maale Adumim and large portions of Gush Etzion.
"Israel is trying to prevent strife in the PA-controlled areas and among Arab populations, and with the support of the US and moderate Arab countries it will implement the sovereignty plan in phases," the official said.
On Friday, meanwhile, the UAE's ambassador to the US warned Israel against the sovereignty bid, saying the move would "upend" Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab countries.
UAE envoy Yousef al-Otaiba was among three Arab ambassadors who attended US President Donald Trump's January unveiling of his Mideast plan, which allows Israel to annex around 30% of Judea and Samaria and was immediately rejected by the Palestinians.
In an editorial published by Yediot Ahronoth, al-Otaiba warned that Israel's planned sovereignty would "ignite violence and rouse extremists."
"It will send shock waves around the region, especially in Jordan whose stability – often taken for granted – benefits the entire region, particularly Israel," al-Otaiba wrote.
The UAE, a close and influential US military ally, has been a major focus of Israel's efforts in recent years to improve ties with Gulf Arab countries that share its concerns about Iran.
The two countries have no formal diplomatic ties, but the Emirates have allowed Israeli officials to visit, and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
Al-Otaiba warned that sovereignty would be a major setback.
"Annexation will certainly and immediately upend Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and with UAE," he wrote.
The UAE Foreign Ministry later tweeted about the article in Hebrew.
Lior Haiat, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, retweeted the post, saying it was a "nice surprise" to read the tweet in Hebrew. He said peace was an opportunity for the whole region, and that the US plan is a "starting point to realize this vision."
"In the UAE and across much of the Arab world, we would like to believe Israel is an opportunity, not an enemy. We face too many common dangers and see the great potential of warmer ties," al-Otaiba wrote.
"Israel's decision on annexation will be an unmistakable signal of whether it sees it the same way."
European leaders have also come out against annexation. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Germany's Der Spiegel that sovereignty would be a "gross violation" of international law and that European countries must try to prevent it.
Many Israeli leaders have argued that Israel must maintain full control of the Jordan Valley to meet its security needs. Israeli leaders have long expressed fears that withdrawing from the valley could open them up to a future Arab invasion from the east.
But in an interview with an Arab-language media outlet, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dismissed those concerns as "nonsense."
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"We can defend our border without the Jordan Valley, and anyone who says it is important for security is lying to the people," he said in an interview with Elaph, a private Saudi-owned media outlet based in the UK.
Olmert told Elaph he had reached an agreement with King Abdullah of Jordan to deploy NATO peacekeepers along the border after an Israeli withdrawal.
Olmert is a harsh critic of Netanyahu, who succeeded him.
