A parliamentary vote in favour of annexing the occupied West Bank and accusations of racism against a senior Israeli minister have caused serious embarrassment for prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a week of unprecedented visits to the country by US officials.
The Knesset parliament on Wednesday endorsed the preliminary reading of a Bill to fully annex all of the occupied West Bank. The measure was proposed by far-right opposition member Avi Maoz and was supported by many coalition lawmakers from two far-right parties and an ultra-Orthodox faction.
US president Donald Trump, in a Time Magazine interview, said Israeli annexation of the West Bank “won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” adding that Israel would “lose all of its support from the United States if that happened”.
US vice-president JD Vance, before departing Israel on Thursday at the end of a two-day trip to shore up the Gaza ceasefire, said he took “some insult” from the Knesset’s vote, saying he was told it was a political stunt, adding: “If so, then it is a very stupid political stunt.”
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Only a few hours separated Mr Vance’s departure from the arrival of US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who also alluded to the Knesset vote, warning that annexation would be “counterproductive” and “threatening” for the Gaza peace deal.
Sixteen Arab, Muslim, African and Middle Eastern states issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the annexation vote, reaffirming “that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The prime minister’s office said the Bill would not advance, describing it as a “deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during vice-president Vance’s visit to Israel.”
The government was further embarrassed when finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist party, made a controversial comment on the possibility of Israel and Saudi Arabia normalising diplomatic relations.
[ Despite US optimism, there is no clear plan for next phase of Gaza peace dealOpens in new window ]
“If Saudi Arabia tells us that it is normalisation in exchange for a Palestinian state, then no thank you, my friends. Keep riding your camels in the Saudi desert,” he said.
After a public outcry he later called the remark “unfortunate” and said he “regrets the insult it caused”.
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, has made it clear that Riyadh will only normalise relations with Israel if a Palestinian state is established – a condition firmly opposed by Mr Netanyahu.
Israeli media reported that Mr Netanyahu laid down a number of red lines in his talks with Mr Vance on the Gaza ceasefire plan, including no Turkish military presence in Gaza and no role for the Palestinian Authority or Hamas in postwar governance. He also reiterated that a full Israeli military withdrawal would only take place after Hamas is fully disarmed and the enclave demilitarised.
The World Health Organisation has evacuated 41 critical patients out of Gaza, but says an additional 15,000 patients are awaiting evacuation.
Israel’s high court on Thursday granted the government an additional 30 days to clarify its position on whether to allow foreign journalists access to Gaza, following a hearing on a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents foreign journalists based in Israel.
Journalists have been prevented from entering Gaza during the two-year war, except for short visits accompanied by the Israeli military.
The FPA said it was “disappointed” by the decision. “The state today once again relied on stalling tactics to prevent the entry of journalists,” the FPA said in a statement.
