Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has warned Israel that moves toward annexing the West Bank could threaten Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians want for part of an independent state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament (Knesset) on Wednesday.
“That’s not something we’d be supportive of right now, and we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal,” said Mr Rubio before leaving for Israel.
Mr Rubio is the latest US official to visit Israel to support the implementation of Mr Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
His trip comes just as US Vice President JD Vance was preparing to leave the country after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Israel Katz, and strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer.
“The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel,” said Mr Vance.
“The policy of President Trump is that the West Bank will not be annexed. This will always be our policy.”
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Fragile Israel-Hamas truce
Repeated bouts of gunfire and explosions have shaken the deal.
Witnesses reported heavy gunfire and tank shelling overnight in eastern areas of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and also east of Gaza City in the north.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 during which 1,200 people were killed and 251 others abducted.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Hamas-controlled health ministry. Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The US-proposed ceasefire is aimed at ending two years of war.
Its first phase has seen the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a handover of bodies of some deceased hostages, and a partial pullout of Israeli troops.
Hamas has reasserted control in Gaza since the ceasefire by deploying armed men on the streets and cracking down on groups that have challenged its grip.
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West Bank in the balance
The Israeli Knesset’s vote on the annexation of the West Bank was the first of four needed to pass the law.
Mr Netanyahu’s government had been mulling annexation after a string of its Western allies recognised a Palestinian state in September, but appeared to scrap the move after Mr Trump objected.
There are around 700,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the West Bank. The UN and much of the international community consider the settlements illegal under international law.
Israel’s government, however, cites biblical and historical connections to the West Bank and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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Opening up Israel’s borders
Separately on Thursday, Israel’s Supreme Court held a hearing on whether to open the Gaza Strip to the international media, and gave Israel 30 days to present a new position.
Foreign journalists have been barred from independently reporting on the war since the conflict started in 2023.
