Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to annex the heart of the West Bank if he wins re-election next week could inflame the
Middle East and extinguish any remaining Palestinian hope of establishing a separate state.
Arab leaders angrily condemned Netanyahu's remarks on Tuesday, and a U.N. spokesman warned the step would be "devastating" to the prospects for a two-state solution.
Netanyahu said he would extend
Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley — an area seen as the breadbasket of any Palestinian state — shortly after forming a new government and would move later to annex other Jewish settlements.