RAMALLAH, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Sunday criticized a U.S.-Israeli committee tasked with mapping out the areas in the West Bank that Israel would annex under the U.S. Middle East peace plan, also known as the Deal of the Century.

The announcement of this committee following the Deal of the Century is a "withdrawal from signed agreements and international legitimacy," said Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

"This step aims at annexation and will destroy the Palestinian political entity ... which is the basis of the peace process," Erekat added.

Israeli public radio earlier said a joint U.S.-Israeli committee was formed to map out areas of the West Bank that Israel may annex as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement that this step undermines the international community's will and the rights of the Palestinian people.

"The ministry is gravely concerned over this aggressive and provocative step, which is part of the inauspicious Deal of the Century and the Israeli measures aimed at resolving final status issues unilaterally and by force," said the statement.

On Jan. 28, Trump revealed a controversial Middle East peace plan, which calls for a two-state solution but recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital."

The U.S. plan was immediately rejected by Palestine and the Arab world as well as other countries around the world.

The Arab foreign ministers unanimously agreed to boycott the U.S. plan and not to cooperate "in any way" with Washington in its implementation.  ■