"Asked by reporters about the vote, Vance said on Thursday, If it was a political stunt, it is a very stupid one, and I personally take some insult to it. Vance spoke after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that steps towards annexing the territory, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, could endanger Trump's plan to end Israel's war on Gaza, which has yielded a shaky ceasefire so far, with Israel violating the truce repeatedly."
"The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of President Trump is that the West Bank will not be annexed. This will always be our policy, Vance said at the end of a two-day visit to Israel. The vote was sponsored by Avi Maoz, the leader of the far-right Noam party, who, until recently, was in the governing right-wing coalition, and backed by ultranationalists National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich."
A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank won preliminary Knesset approval by a 25-24 vote, a step tantamount to annexation of territory Palestinians seek for a future state. US Vice President JD Vance said President Trump would oppose annexation, described the move as a very stupid political stunt, and stated the West Bank will not be annexed. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned annexation steps could endanger Trump's plan to end Israel's war on Gaza and the fragile ceasefire. The bill was sponsored by Avi Maoz and backed by ultranationalists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Netanyahu's office called the vote a deliberate provocation and Likud did not support the bill, while observers say de facto annexation is still taking place across the West Bank.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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