A day after the Israeli Knesset’s votes approving two laws that call for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, US President Donald Trump, on Thursday, dismissed the move, saying “It won’t happen”.
“We’ve had great Arab support. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened,” Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine.
A Knesset statement said the bill was approved in a preliminary reading “to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel to the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)”. It will now go to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee for further deliberations.
Annexation of Palestinian territory will be a blatant violation of international law and a crisis for Israel, with more of its Western allies recognising a Palestinian State. The bill was opposed by war crime-accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Earlier on Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting Israel, called its parliament’s decision to expand the annexation of the occupied West Bank a “stupid” political stunt.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia were among the countries to condemn the bill. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move in the “strongest terms”, calling the votes a “blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law”.
The UN principal court in 2024 said that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and its settlements there are illegal, and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
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