In an interview with Al-Monitor published yesterday, the United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al-Otaiba said that Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank will make the region more “unstable.” 

“We think that kind of decision will only take matters and make what is an unstable region at the moment even more unstable,” Otaiba told Andrew Parasiliti in the On the Middle East podcast.

The ambassador’s comments come as Israel moves toward annexing Jewish settlements in parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley. Israel’s unity government was sworn in last month after months of political squabbling. The coalition gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the backing to finally pursue his goal of annexation. The West Bank is recognized as occupied by the international community and is currently split between areas controlled by the Israeli military and the Palestinian Authority. Israel plans to start annexation legislation in July.

Several Arab countries staunchly oppose the move, including Jordan, which is one of only two Arab states to have formal relations with Israel. Palestinians argue that annexation deprives them of self-determination, while Israel believes the areas that would be annexed are essential for its security.