Palestine says U.S. ambassador helps Israel to annex part of West Bank

The Palestinian foreign minister said on Monday that comments by the U.S. ambassador to Israel were intended to help Israel annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

"This is really something that the international community has to stand up, has to respond," ambassador Riyad al-Maliki said during a visit to Warsaw.

The New York Times on Saturday quoted ambassador David Friedman as saying that under certain circumstances, Israel had the right to retain some of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in April he intended to annex Jewish settlements built on land the Palestinians hope will form part of an eventual independent state.