Vance and Rubio criticise Israeli parliament's vote on West Bank annexation

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have criticized Israel's parliament for a symbolic vote that gave preliminary approval to a bill applying Israeli law to parts of the occupied West Bank. The move was seen as a political provocation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party did not support the bill. Vance called it a "very stupid political stunt" and emphasized that the Trump administration's policy is against Israel annexing the West Bank. President Donald Trump also stated in an interview with Time magazine that he had given his word to Arab countries that annexation would not happen, adding that Israel would lose US support if it did so. The West Bank is claimed by Palestinians for a future independent state.

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