JD Vance and Marco Rubio blasted them for the move, while Trump said Israel would lose all support from the US if it went through with it.
By Catholics for Catholics
The Trump administration sternly criticized Israel’s parliament for voting on a West Bank annexation, while President Donald Trump said in an interview that he would withdraw all support to that country if it went ahead with the move.
Vice President JD Vance blasted Israel’s Knesset vote on a West Bank annexation, saying it amounted to an “insult,” according to The Times of Israel. His biting comments came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now be traveling to Israel.
At issue, according to international observers, is America’s intent on keeping President Donald Trump’s peace deal ongoing between Israel and Hamas. Some see that even a hint of a West Bank annexation could jeopardize the armistice that is a big part of the Trump’s administration’s diplomatic achievements.
The bill in the Knesset passed in a 25-24 vote. It is unclear whether the bill has the support to win a majority in the 120-seat parliament, and if Netanyahu has the tools to delay or defeat it.
Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before leaving Israel, Vance said that if the Knesset vote was a “political stunt, then it is a very stupid political stunt.”
.@VP on the Knesset vote on West Bank annexation: "If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult… The policy of the Trump Admin is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy." pic.twitter.com/rt0bHA0bqk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 23, 2025
“I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
During his visit to Israel, Vance stopped at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the extensive 12th century basilica where Jesus was crucified, died and rose again, in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In an interview with Time Magazine (prior to the Knesset, Israel’s legislative body, deciding on a passage to annex the West Bank), Trump said he was categorically opposed to Israel annexing the West Bank and would not allow it.
“It won’t happen. It won’t happen,” Trump told Time, referring to annexation. “It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now. We’ve had great Arab support. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
Before heading to Israel, Rubio told reporters: “They passed a vote in the Knesset, but the president has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now. We think there’s potential for [it to be] threatening to the peace deal.”
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