"The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, calling lawmakers' preliminary vote to extend sovereignty in the occupied area and the surge in settler violence there a threat to peace. A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to the annexation of land Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel's parliament on Wednesday, barely a week after Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in Gaza."
"Washington has repeatedly said that any annexation of the West Bank would cross a red line. I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, Donald Trump told reporters at the White House in September. It's not going to happen. I think the president's made clear that's not something we can be supportive of right now, Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel. Defying Netanyahu's warnings he had also urged MPs from his Likud party to abstain shouting erupted in the Knesset during the vote."
Marco Rubio warned that Israeli moves to annex the West Bank and rising settler violence threaten peace and could undermine a fragile Gaza ceasefire. A bill to apply Israeli law to the occupied West Bank won preliminary parliamentary approval, a step tantamount to annexation of land Palestinians seek for a state. The bill's passage embarrassed Benjamin Netanyahu, who had urged a delay during US vice-president JD Vance's visit. Washington has declared annexation a red line, with Donald Trump saying he will not allow it. Some US officials previously supported annexation, but attitudes shifted as Arab and Islamic states consider postwar Gaza support.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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