Table of Contents
- Trump’s Firm Stance Against Annexation
- Symbolic Knesset Votes Spark U.S. Fury
- Netanyahu Scrambles to Contain Fallout
- Smotrich’s Saudi Comments Add Fuel to Fire
- Gaza Ceasefire Hangs in the Balance
- Sources
Trump Vows West Bank Annexation ‘Won’t Happen’
In a forceful declaration aimed at preserving regional stability, President Donald Trump has made it unequivocally clear: any Israeli attempt to annex parts of the occupied West Bank will not be tolerated by the United States.
Speaking in an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, October 23, 2025, Trump emphasized that he had personally assured Arab allies such a move would not occur. “It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” he stated. “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
Symbolic Knesset Votes Spark U.S. Fury
The comments come just one day after Israel’s Knesset passed two largely symbolic motions supporting the annexation of West Bank territories—land that much of the international community sees as central to a future Palestinian state.
Though non-binding and requiring multiple additional legislative steps to become law, the votes infuriated the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance, wrapping up a two-day visit to Israel, called the parliamentary maneuver a “very stupid political stunt.”
“If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said. “The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
Netanyahu Scrambles to Contain Fallout
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, caught between hardline coalition partners and U.S. pressure, quickly distanced himself from the votes.
“The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel,” Netanyahu said in an English-language statement.
Despite leading Israel’s most right-wing government in history—comprising ultranationalist and religious parties—Netanyahu insisted the bills lacked support from his Likud party and were unlikely to advance.
Smotrich’s Saudi Comments Add Fuel to Fire
Adding to the diplomatic chaos, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—a staunch annexation advocate—publicly insulted Saudi Arabia during a conference, declaring: “No thank you. Keep riding camels in the sands of the Saudi desert,” if Palestinian statehood was the price for normalization.
The remark drew swift condemnation from across Israel’s political spectrum. Smotrich later posted a video expressing regret for his “unplanned” comment but stood firm on annexation, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria.
“Those who dispute our living and very deep ties to the regions of our homeland in Judea and Samaria hurt us,” he said.
Gaza Ceasefire Hangs in the Balance
The political turmoil comes at a precarious moment. A fragile Gaza cease-fire, in place for just two weeks after two years of devastating war, remains vulnerable.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, en route to Israel after the Knesset votes, warned that annexation efforts could jeopardize the truce. “Annexation is not something the administration would be supportive of right now,” he told reporters.
The Trump administration’s postwar vision includes a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”—a stance directly at odds with Netanyahu’s long-standing opposition to a Palestinian state.
