Annexation of occupied West Bank is ‘clear red line’ for US
Political analyst Shireen Salti says Israel is testing what “the red line” is for the United States over the ceasefire deal and the bill over annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“Israel has been notorious at breaking the ceasefire over and over again,” she told Al Jazeera from Ramallah. “It is interesting to see that the developments on the ground compared to what the discussions have been at the legislative level,” Salti said.
She stressed that the annexation of the occupied West Bank is “a clear red line” for the US, as top Washington officials push back against Israel’s “political stunt” – as Vice President JD Vance calls it.
“But Americans continue to ignore new illegal outposts and settlements, which are kind of informal annexation on the ground,” Salti also said. The analyst said the US influence and pressure when needed on Israeli politics should not be “underestimated”, but it should not be “overstated” either.
Qatar: Success of ceasefire agreement ‘a collective responsibility’
The Qatari Foreign Ministry says that it will take work from many parties to ensure the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
“The State of Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli Knesset’s approval of two draft laws aimed at imposing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, in defiance of international law and international legitimacy resolutions,” Qatar added in a statement delivered by its UN representative at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“We urge the international community, especially the Security Council, to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and take urgent action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist plans and settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories”, the statement adds.
Qatar was one of the central parties to the ceasefire agreement and is considered a key player as the implementation of Trump’s plan for Gaza moves forward.
