US Vice President Says Trump's Policy Rejects Israeli Annexation of West Bank
"The West Bank will not be annexed by Israel," said US Vice President JD Vance
Reuters - US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that President Donald Trump would oppose Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank and that it will not happen, a day after Israeli lawmakers introduced legislation to that effect.
Vance spoke after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that moves toward annexing territory Palestinians seek to form part of an independent state could jeopardize Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, which has yielded a shaky ceasefire so far.
"The West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. President Trump's policy is that the West Bank will not be annexed. That will always be our policy," Vance stated during a trip to Israel to help reinforce the truce in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, following Vance's remarks, that the government had not decided to bring forward the vote on annexation at this stage in order to ensure the success of Trump's multi-stage plan for Gaza.
The US has long been Israel's most powerful and staunch ally, and the Trump administration is particularly close to Israel, wielding considerable influence over its leadership.
Senior U.S. officials, including Rubio, have been visiting Israel in an attempt to keep alive the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, following two years of devastating war that has rocked the Middle East.
Vance told reporters in Tel Aviv that he "feels very good" about the ceasefire in Gaza, after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Repeated shootings and explosions have shaken the agreement, and both sides have traded blame for violations of its first phase, which saw the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the handover of the bodies of some dead hostages, and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Both sides reiterated their commitment to the US-brokered ceasefire following two years of war triggered by Hamas's cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1.200 people, according to Israeli records.
Israel's air and ground warfare in response has killed more than 68.000 people and reduced much of the small, highly urbanized Gaza Strip to rubble, according to Gaza health officials.
The U.S. State Department said Rubio was visiting Israel to support the implementation of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza and to pave the way for reconstruction, stable governance, and possible steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israeli parliament moves forward with annexing the West Bank.
A bill that would apply Israeli law to the West Bank, a move equivalent to annexing territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, received preliminary approval from Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday.
There are hundreds of thousands of people living in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The United Nations and much of the international community consider the settlements illegal under international law.
The Israeli government cites biblical and historical connections to the West Bank, a territory it considers disputed, and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Settlements are a highly volatile issue that has been a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East for decades, as they fragment the territory that Palestinians want for a viable state.
Wednesday's vote was the first of four needed to pass the law and coincided with Vance's visit to Israel -- a month after Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the territory.
