US Secretary of State Rubio warns West Bank annexation endangers Trump’s Gaza plan
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A Bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank won preliminary approval from Israel's Parliament on Oct 22.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the Israeli Knesset’s move towards the annexation of the West Bank would threaten President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which has produced a shaky ceasefire so far.
“I mean, that’s a vote in the – yeah, that’s a vote in the Knesset, but obviously, I think the President’s made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now, and we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal,” Mr Rubio told reporters late on Oct 22 before leaving for Israel.
Mr Rubio’s visit to Israel, announced by the US State Department on Oct 22, is the latest by a senior US official seeking to keep alive a fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Repeated bouts of gunfire and explosions have shaken the deal and the two sides have traded blame for violations of its first phase, which 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.
Both sides have reiterated their commitment to the US-mediated ceasefire after two years of war triggered by the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s air and ground war in response has killed over 68,000 people and reduced much of the tiny, heavily urbanised Gaza Strip to rubble, Gaza health authorities say.
Heavy shooting, shelling overnight
Overnight, residents reported almost constant heavy gunfire and tank shelling in eastern areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and also east of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli drone fire killed one Palestinian in southern Gaza.
“Gunfire and explosions almost didn’t stop until the morning, my three children woke up and asked me if the war had come back,” said Mr Mohammad Abu Mansour, 40, a farmer living in central Gaza Strip.
“When is this all going to end and we regain our normal lives without fears?” he said via a chat app.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the spate of shooting and shelling or the drone fire.
But witnesses said relative calm returned to the coastal territory after daybreak.
The US State Department said Mr Rubio was visiting Israel to support the implementation of Mr Trump’s 20-point plan
He was preceded by US Vice-President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel this week and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct 22.
He is due to meet Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Oct 23 before departing.
A Bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land that Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s Parliament
There are around 700,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The United Nations 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, territory that it regards as disputed, and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The settlements are an explosive issue that has for decades been seen as a major obstacle to Middle East peace.
The vote was the first of four needed to pass the law and coincided with Mr Vance’s visit to Israel, a month after Mr Trump said that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party did not support the legislation, which was put forward by lawmakers outside his ruling coalition and passed by a vote of 25 in favour and 24 against out of 120 lawmakers.
A second Bill by an opposition party proposing the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem passed by 31 votes to 9.
Mr Netanyahu’s government had been mulling annexation as a response to a string of its Western allies recognising a Palestinian state in September, but appeared to scrap the move after Mr Trump objected.
Settlement building has been expanding rapidly since 2022 when Mr Netanyahu’s government - the most right-wing in Israeli history with ultra-nationalist coalition partners who seek annexation of both the West Bank and Gaza - came to power. REUTERS
