Israeli Parliament approves annexation of occupied West Bank

A bill to apply Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, which is tantamount to annexing the territory, has received preliminary approval from the Israeli parliament. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.

Details

A bill to apply Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, which is tantamount to annexing the territory that Palestinians want to allocate for the creation of a state, received preliminary approval from the Israeli parliament on Wednesday

It is noted that this vote was the first of four required to pass the law, and coincided with the visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance to Israel, a month after US President Donald Trump stated that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party did not support the bill, which was submitted by lawmakers not part of his ruling coalition. A second bill from an opposition party, proposing the annexation of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, passed by a vote of 31 to 9

It is emphasized that members of Netanyahu's coalition have been calling for years for Israel to officially annex part of the West Bank, a territory to which Israel has biblical and historical ties.

Netanyahu's government considered annexation as a response to a number of Western allies recognizing a Palestinian state in September, but appears to have backed down from the move after Trump's objections.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday that Israel's vote on the West Bank and Ma'ale Adumim bills reflects the "ugly face of colonial occupation."

Recall

US President Donald Trump called on Hamas to adhere to the truce with Israel and warned that violating the agreement would have serious consequences.

US Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the ceasefire in Gaza is going better than he expected after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.