The head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, warned this Wednesday, October 22, that the vote in the Israeli parliament on bills aimed at expanding Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank risked “threatening” the truce in Gaza.
“I think the president (Donald Trump) has made sure that this is not something we can support at this time,” Marc Rubio told reporters as he departed for Israel, where he is expected Thursday, saying it would “threaten” the ceasefire and be “counterproductive.”
The Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, voted on Wednesday to examine two bills aimed at expanding Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank, during a visit by US Vice President JD Vance to Israel.
US President Donald Trump, an ally of Israel in its war against the Islamist movement Hamas, has opposed any annexation of the West Bank by Israel, a project supported by the Israeli far right.
Israeli parliamentarians voted on two bills in preliminary reading, a vote intended to authorize their consideration in first reading.
A fragile ceasefire
Israel approved a key project in August to build 3,400 homes in the West Bank, denounced by the UN and several foreign leaders. “It’s a democracy, they’re going to vote,” said Marc Rubio.
“But for now, it’s something that we think could be counterproductive,” he added.
Asked about the increase in violence committed by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Marc Rubio said: “We are concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize the fruit of our efforts.”
Marco Rubio is visiting Israel after Vice President JD Vance, who has generally been optimistic about maintaining the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
This agreement, which came into force on October 10 and is based on a plan by Donald Trump, appeared to falter on Sunday following the deadly violence in Gaza and exchanges of accusations of violations of the truce.
“There will be threats every day, but I think we are ahead in terms of implementation, and the fact that we got through this weekend is a good sign,” Marc Rubio said.
Source: BFM TV
