President Donald Trump revealed a red line that will force his administration to yank its support for Israel as it attempts to hold a fragile ceasefire with Hamas: annexation of the West Bank. ‘Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened,’ Trump told Time Magazine for a cover story released Thursday. During a trip to Israel this week, Vice President JD Vance called the Israeli Parliament’s vote narrowly backing annexation of the occupied land a ‘personal insult’ to the Trump administration’s continued support of the ally nation.
Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oppose annexation – but right-wing factions of Israel’s government want to block a path towards Palestinian statehood by way of annexing the West Bank. Trump has warned that passage would be met with fierce opposition by the U.S. ‘It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,’ Trump told Time.
It’s also unlikely that annexation would pass the multiple rounds of voting required to become law in Israel’s Knesset, and Netanyahu has the ability to delay the proposal should it get that far. Some speculate that the hard-liner’s 25-24 symbolic vote was meant to embarrass Netanyahu while Vance was still in Israel. Speaking at Tel Aviv’s airport before departing on Thursday, Vance called the vote a ‘very stupid political stunt.’
‘I personally take some insult to it,’ the vice president added. ‘The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.’ It’s especially concerning as Trump’s peace deal aimed at ending the two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas teeters on a fragile balance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged before departing for Israel on Wednesday that the Knesset vote could jeopardize the agreement to bring an end to the war in Gaza.
‘President Trump has already made it clear that we do not support such moves right now,’ Rubio said. ‘We are concerned about anything that could undermine what we are working on.’ Trump announced in late September a 20-point plan for an end of war in Gaza with a deadline for Hamas to accept by October 5, 2025 with threats of escalation if it was rejected.
The deal was brokered and mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan and included a phased ceasefire, hostage release, demilitarization and reconstruction plan for the war torn Palestinian enclave. Trump believes a cleaned-up Gaza could attract tourism and has compared it to beautiful and luxurious destinations like Dubai, Monaco and the French Riviera. His deal includes a lengthy and likely very pricey plan to make war-torn Gaza a sought-after vacation spot. The plan is holding but frangible in the early stages.
The ceasefire is active, major hostage exchanges have occurred and aid is flowing into Gaza. But there are still some outstanding issues straining the deal – like failure to return deceased hostages’ remains and Israeli political moves to annex the other Palestinian enclave in the West Bank. The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. and Israeli ally in reaching peace in Gaza, insists annexation would be a ‘red line.’ Some right-wing members of Israeli Parliament are upset over the ceasefire and believe the Jewish state made too many security sacrifices in the deal.
