The next steps in shaping a peaceful postwar Gaza remain uncertain, but the Trump administration has made one point clear: Israel will not be allowed to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. President Trump emphasized this in an interview with Time magazine published on Thursday.
“That’s not going to happen, because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” he said when asked about a possible annexation. “If it does, Israel will lose all support from the United States.”
A day before the interview was published, the Israeli Knesset held two largely symbolic votes in support of annexing land in the West Bank—a territory that much of the world sees as the foundation of a future Palestinian state.
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The United States remains Israel’s main ally, and these preliminary votes have irritated the Trump administration, which is working to keep Arab partners engaged in the Gaza agreement.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who concluded a two-day visit to Israel on Thursday, reacted sharply to the vote. He said someone had explained to him that it was a political gesture without practical effect.
“If it was a political gesture, it was an extremely foolish one, and I personally took it as an insult,” he said. “The West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. The Trump administration’s policy is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.” The votes took place the same day Vance arrived in the country.
The very next day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to distance himself from the decisions that had angered Washington.
“The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition, aimed at creating tension during Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to Israel,” he said in an official statement issued in English.
The proposals, introduced by two right-wing opposition lawmakers, were largely symbolic and would have required several more rounds of voting and committee deliberations before they could become law.