Vance says he was "insulted" by Knesset vote on West Bank annexation

"One bill that was put forward by a member of the coalition called for annexation of the entire West Bank. The other was put forward by the opposition and called for annexation of one of the biggest settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu ordered the members of his party not to vote on the bills, but didn't demand the same from other members of his coalition and didn't take action to stop the vote."

"He said he was confused by it and that he was told it was only "symbolic" and part of a "political stunt with no practical significance." "If it was a political stunt, it was a stupid one and I take some insult to it," Vance said. He stressed that the Trump administration's policy is that "the West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel.""

""So they're a democracy, they're going to have their votes, people are going to take these positions, but at this time it's something that especially we think it might be counterproductive... We're concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we've worked on," he said."

The Knesset held a preliminary reading on two annexation bills: one proposing annexation of the entire West Bank and another targeting a major settlement. Netanyahu told his party members not to vote but did not prevent other coalition members from participating. Both bills passed with votes from some coalition members, one Likud member, and multiple opposition members including Yair Lapid. U.S. officials reacted negatively: Vance called the vote "weird" and described it as a symbolic political stunt, insisting U.S. policy opposes West Bank annexation. Rubio warned annexation could threaten efforts to stabilize peace deals in Gaza.

Read at Axios