Marco Rubio warned that Israel’s moves toward annexing the West Bank could jeopardize peace talks
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that moves by the Israeli parliament toward annexing the already occupied West Bank could jeopardize President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
Rubio was speaking before heading to Israel to help oversee efforts to preserve the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas and advance peace talks in the next stages of the deal. He is the latest senior US official to do so after escalating violence raised fears that the truce could collapse.
“This is a vote in the Knesset, but obviously I think the president has made it clear that this is not something we support at this time,” Rubio said, speaking to reporters late Wednesday on the runway.
His comments came after a bill seeking to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, a move seen as tantamount to annexing lands that Palestinians consider part of their future state, received preliminary approval from the Israeli Knesset earlier on Wednesday.
“They’re Democrats, and they’re going to get their votes. People are going to take those positions,” Rubio said. But he said, “At this time, we believe that could be counterproductive.”
The vote comes weeks after Trump announced that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. This was the first of four actions required to pass the law, according to ReutersWhich stated that the Likud Party, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not support the legislation.
Rubio was the latest US official to make his way to Israel in recent days, following Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
On Wednesday, Vance sought to stress that US officials are not flocking to Israel in an attempt to foster a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing that Israel is a partner and not a “vassal state” as questions grow about the next steps in Trump’s peace plan.
Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged warm words at a joint news conference on Wednesday as they sought to project confidence about the future of Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas, as discussions about a future international stabilization force in Gaza became a focal point of discussions this week.
“I never said it was easy, but what I am optimistic about is that the ceasefire will hold and that we can actually build a better future in the entire Middle East,” Vance said.
His statements came after waves of violence in Gaza in recent days threatened to collapse the truce agreement, with both Israel and Hamas exchanging accusations that the other party had violated the fragile ceasefire.
The two sides also clashed over delays in returning the bodies of hostages held by Hamas and over continuing barriers to aid reaching the Strip.
The International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest legal body, said in an advisory opinion on Wednesday that Israel is required to facilitate the UN. Relief efforts in Gaza. The case followed Israel’s decision last year to ban UNRWA, the UN relief agency that supports Palestinian refugees.
Israel has faced increasing backlash internationally in recent months, not only because of its war in Gaza, but also because of escalating settler violence and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank over the past two years.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War and has defended the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, but most of the international community considers them illegal.
Settlement expansion is also seen as directly endangering the Palestinian cause and a major obstacle to resolving the decades-long conflict in the region, as Palestinians view the three areas as part of their future state.
A number of world powers, including France and Britain, officially recognized the Palestinian state last month.
“This is a complicated part of the world,” Rubio said Wednesday. “I think every day is going to bring opportunities and it’s also going to bring some challenges, okay? We deal with decades and decades of this stuff.”
Despite warning of the impact that the Israeli Knesset’s moves toward annexation could have on peace efforts in the region, Rubio remains optimistic about the future of the current ceasefire agreement.
“There is more work to be done and we know that,” he said on Wednesday.
“This is a historic peace agreement implemented by President Trump, and we must now ensure it continues and continue to build on it.”