Israeli prime minister orders halt to West Bank annexation bills after US criticism

ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his ruling coalition not to advance bills for annexation of the occupied West Bank in the Knesset following US criticism, a lawmaker said Thursday.

Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz said Netanyahu instructed him “not to advance proposals regarding applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) until further notice,” the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

On Wednesday, the Knesset approved in a preliminary reading two bills to annex the West Bank and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc. Both drafts still must pass three additional readings to become law.

The move drew US fire with US President Donald Trump saying that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. His Vice President JD Vance, who concluded a 3-day visit to Israel on Thursday, also called the Knesset vote “a stupid political stunt.”

Netanyahu, for his part, called the vote on the West Bank annexation bills “a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel.”

In a statement by his office, Netanyahu said that the two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset.

“The Likud party and the religious parties (the principal coalition members) did not vote for these bills, except for one disgruntled Likud member who was recently fired from the chairmanship of a Knesset committee,” Netanyahu said. “Without Likud support, these bills are unlikely to go anywhere.”

Annexing the West Bank would effectively end the possibility of implementing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as outlined in UN resolutions.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.