US President Donald Trump has said that Israel was "not going to do anything" in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli lawmakers advanced bills paving the way for annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.
"Don't worry about the West Bank, Israel's not going to do anything with the West Bank," Trump told reporters on Thursday at the White House when asked if he was concerned by the votes in the Israeli parliament.
The Israeli parliament, or Knesset, on Wednesday approved two annexation-related bills in a preliminary reading. Both drafts must pass three additional readings to become law.
The vote came despite opposition from Trump, who said last month that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
'Symbolic' vote
It also came during Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel as part of a US diplomatic push to maintain the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect on October 10.
Vance, speaking on Thursday in Tel Aviv, also ruled out annexation, adding that Israeli officials told him the Knesset vote was "symbolic," noting that Washington "certainly wasn't happy about it."
"If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it. The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel," Vance said.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel was "threatening" the Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by Trump after the Knesset's move toward annexation.
Israeli attacks have escalated across the West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,056 Palestinians and wounding over 10,300, with more than 20,000 detained, according to Palestinian figures.
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.
