The US remains Israel’s most important military and diplomatic supporter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party boycotted and criticised this week’s votes in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, though members of his ruling coalition support annexation.
Arab and Muslim countries, which the US has been courting to provide troops and money for a stabilisation force in Gaza – a key element of Trump’s ceasefire plan – have warned that annexation of the West Bank is a red line.
In a joint statement carried by Saudi state media yesterday, more than a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey, condemned the Knesset votes.
Rubio, one of a string of top US officials to visit Israel in recent days, warned before his arrival that any moves towards annexation were “threatening” to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
But he expressed confidence in the truce after meeting Netanyahu yesterday.
“We feel confident and positive about the progress that’s being made. We’re clear-eyed about the challenges, too,” Rubio said, just hours after Vance wrapped up his three-day visit.
‘Very stupid’
As Vance ended his trip, he hit out at the Knesset votes in favour of examining two annexation bills, meaning they will be brought forward for further readings.
“If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said.
“The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy.”
Netanyahu, standing next to Rubio after their meeting yesterday, was quick to avoid any suggestion of tension with the US, calling Rubio an “extraordinary friend of Israel” and saying that the back-to-back visits were part of a “circle of trust and partnership”.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began with an attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops and settlers have killed nearly 1000 Palestinians, including militants and civilians, in the West Bank since October 2023.
Over the same period, at least 43 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have died in Palestinian attacks or Israeli operations, official figures show.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank.
‘Tough task’
The Gaza truce faced its toughest test last weekend, when Israeli forces launched strikes in Gaza after two soldiers were killed. The strikes killed at least 45 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Gaza’s Nasser Hospital said that one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike yesterday in the Khan Yunis area.
During his visit, Vance warned that disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza would be a “very, very tough task”.
Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would oversee Gaza’s transition as Israeli troops withdraw.
Delegations from Hamas and its rival Fatah, meanwhile, met in Egypt to discuss post-war arrangements for Gaza, Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News reported.
‘Not enough food’
In Gaza, civilians displaced by two years of war continue to struggle.
“We were afraid of dying during the war, and now we’re afraid of living after it,” said Maher Abu Wafah, 42.
“Our lives and our children’s future are slipping away before our eyes. We just want a stable life.”
The World Health Organisation said yesterday that there had been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since the ceasefire took hold, and no observable reduction in hunger.
“The situation remains catastrophic because what’s entering is not enough,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, lamenting that “there is no dent in hunger because there is not enough food”.
– Agence France-Presse
