Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

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Rubio says Israeli moves to annex occupied West Bank ‘threatening’ Gaza peace deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned Israel against annexing the occupied West Bank, saying steps taken by the Knesset are a threat to the Gaza peace deal.

On Wednesday, Israeli politicians voted to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

“I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we can be supportive of right now,” Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel.

“And we think that’s even threatening to the peace deal.”

A number of Arab and Islamic states, which the United States is courting to provide troops and money for a stabilisation force in Gaza, have warned that annexation of the occupied West Bank is a red line.

When asked about increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Rubio said: “We’re concerned about anything that threatens to destabilise what we’ve worked on.”


Netanyahu slams Knesset vote on West Bank annexation as ‘political provocation’

The Israeli prime minister has referred to yesterday’s Knesset vote on the annexation of the occupied West Bank as a “deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during [US] Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel”.

According to his office, the two bills which passed in their draft stage 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. Without Likud support these bills are unlikely to go anywhere,” his office added.

Earlier, Vance called yesterday’s vote a “very stupid political stunt”.