West Bank Annexation Bill a Threat to Trump’s Peace Plan: Marco Rubio

Darwin, 23 October –

The United States considers the bill passed yesterday by the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) — to formally annex two areas of the Palestinian West Bank, Judea and Samaria, into Israeli territory — as a “threat” to President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan.

U.S. Secretary of State and President Trump’s National Security Advisor Marco Rubio gave this information.

Rubio departed Washington for Israel yesterday. Before boarding his flight, he told reporters, “They (Israel) have passed a bill in the Knesset, but President Trump has made it clear that our administration will not support this bill. We view it as a threat to the implementation of the peace plan in Gaza.”

Rubio added, “There is no doubt that the bill was brought forward through a democratic process. In a democracy, people vote, bills are introduced in parliament, and members cast their votes accordingly. However, at this moment, practicing such democracy could produce the opposite effect.”

Israel captured Judea and Samaria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and since then, the two areas of the West Bank have remained under Israeli control.

According to Israeli media reports, after the bill was introduced in the Knesset on Wednesday, it received 25 votes in favor and 24 against in the 120-member parliament, while 51 members abstained.

Reports also indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party members opposed the bill, though some allies within the ruling coalition voted in favor.

On September 29, U.S. President Donald Trump presented a proposal for a ceasefire plan in Gaza. After both Israel and Hamas — the group controlling the Gaza Strip — agreed to the plan, a ceasefire began on October 10.

Since the ceasefire, no major conflict or violence has been reported in Gaza.