A bill proposing the annexation of illegal Jewish settlements seized from Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank was approved yesterday in a preliminary vote in the Israeli Parliament. US President Donald Trump commented on the decision, saying,"There will be no Israeli annexation of the West Bank."
SABAH.COM.TR FOREIGN NEWS AGENCIES
US President Donald Trump told Time magazine,"There will be no Israeli annexation of the West Bank. This will not happen because I promised the Arab countries. You can't do this now. If that happens, Israel will lose all support from the United States."
The US President said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of the ceasefire,"He had to stop because the world was going to stop him."
Trump also said: "I told Netanyahu, 'You can't fight the world. You can fight individual wars, but the world is against you. Israel is a very small place compared to the world. I stopped him because he would have continued. It could have gone on for years."
Regarding Israel's attack on Qatar, the US President said,"Netanyahu made a tactical mistake by striking Qatar."
Trump, announcing his trip to Gaza, said,"As you know, there will be a Peace Council there. I was asked to be the chairman there. Believe me, it wasn't something I wanted to do, but the Peace Council will be a very powerful group and will have a lot of power in terms of the Middle East."
The US President also said,"We have reshaped the Middle East. I have more than three years left. Everything will be better and stronger while I am there."
NETANYAHU STEP BACK
On the other hand, according to a report in the Israeli press, Netanyahu asked coalition leader Ofir Katz not to take any new steps regarding the draft law on the annexation of the West Bank in the Israeli Parliament.
It was noted that Netanyahu's order not to take any new steps on the bill that includes the annexation of the West Bank was given after criticism from the US administration.
In a written statement, Netanyahu's office described yesterday's vote in Parliament as"a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during US Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Israel."
It was stated that the vote, for which the opposition was accused, was not supported by Netanyahu's Likud party and the parties in the coalition government.
The statement also argued that if Likud did not support it, there would be no progress on this bill in Parliament.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S HARSH REACTION TO ISRAEL
US Vice President JD Vance stated that the fact that the bill to annex the occupied West Bank was passed in the parliament through a preliminary vote while he was in Israel was insulting and "idiotic", and that the Trump administration's policy was against this and that they would continue this.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the other hand, said,"I think the President has made it clear that we will not support this right now, and we see it as a potential threat to the peace agreement."
