The French president has asked Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to put aside a plan to annex the Jordan Valley and Zionist settlements in the West Bank, the French presidency said Friday in a statement.

In a phone conversation on Thursday, Emmanuel Macron reminded Netanyahu "of France's commitment to peace in the Middle East and asked him to refrain from taking any measure to annex Palestinian territories," AFP quoted the Elysee statement as saying.
Macron said that "such move would be against international law and would jeopardize the possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of a fair and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
Netanyahu had previously set July 1 as the starting date for his plan to annex the Jordan Valley and some other settlements in the West Bank. On July 1, Netanyahu did not make any statement about delaying or calling off the plan. His office only said the prime minister will continue to hold discussions with the U.S. teams "in the coming days."
On July 6, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told Kan Bet Radio that the annexation of the occupied West Bank is currently not on the government's agenda.