US Foreign Minister Says Israel's Efforts To Annex West Bank Threaten Trump's Plan To End Gaza War

West Bank/DOK UN News/Shirin Yaseen

JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel's Knesset (parlemen) move to annex the West Bank would threaten President Donald Trump's plans to end the conflict in Gaza.

"I mean, it was a vote on the yes, it was a vote on Knesset, but obviously the president has confirmed that it is not something we will support right now, and we think it has the potential to threaten a peace agreement," Rubio told reporters before leaving for Israel. as reported by Reuters, Thursday, October 23.

Rubio's visit to Israel is the latest visit of a senior US official seeking to maintain a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

US Vice President JD Vance first arrived in Israel and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. He is scheduled to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Thursday before departing.

The State Department said Rubio visited Israel to support the implementation of Trump's 20-point plan to end the Gaza war.

The bill, which applies Israeli law in the occupied West Bank, received preliminary approval from the Israeli parliament on Wednesday.

There are about 700,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The United Nations (UN) and most of the international community consider these settlements illegal under international law.

However, the Israeli government cites historical and alkitabian relations with the West Bank, a region it considers a dispute, and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.

The settlement is an explosive issue that for decades has been seen as a major obstacle to Middle Eastern peace.

The vote was the first of the four votes needed to pass the law and coincided with Vance's visit to Israel, a month after President Donald Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

Netanyahu's Likud Party does not support the law, which was proposed by lawmakers outside the ruling coalition and passed with 25 votes in favor and 24 votes against that of 120 lawmakers.

The second bill by opposition parties proposing the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem was passed with 31 votes compared to 9.

Netanyahu's administration has considered annexation in response to a number of its Western allies' recognition of the Palestinian state in September, but appears to have canceled the move after Trump rejected it.

The construction of settlements has grown rapidly since 2022 when the Netanyahu government came to power. This development is the most right-handed in Israeli history, with some ultra-nationalist lawmakers.

The UAE, the most prominent Arab country to be in a relationship with Israel under the so-called Abrahamic Agreement, last month warned that annexation in the West Bank was a red line for the Gulf nation.