US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Israel to refrain from taking steps towards annexing the West Bank. He said the Israeli parliament's decision to approve the extension of Israeli sovereignty in the occupied territory in a preliminary vote posed a threat to peace and could derail diplomatic efforts to stabilise the situation in the region.

As Reuters reported, a bill that would apply Israeli law to the West Bank passed its first reading just a week after President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end Israel's two-year offensive in Gaza. Rubio stressed that the steps toward annexation are "potentially dangerous to the peace process" and that the United States considers this approach to be counterproductive at this time.

According to the Guardian, the bill still has several rounds of approval ahead of it, but its passage has already caused political tension. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly asked MPs to postpone the vote because it could jeopardise the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, Washington has long warned that any attempt to annex the West Bank would cross "červené čáry".

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank," Donald Trump said in September at the White House. Rubio reiterated during his trip to Israel that the president has made it clear that the United States will not support annexation on this issue.

Despite warnings from Netanyahu, who urged even members of his ruling Likud party to exercise restraint, there were outbursts of emotion during the Knesset vote. MK Avi Maoz of the far-right Noam party declared that "the time has come to exercise Israeli sovereignty" and that the Israelis have an obligation "to settle in the land of Israel".

As Reuters recalled, some Trump administration officials previously supported Israel's annexation efforts, but Washington's position changed after Arab and Islamic states - whose cooperation the United States needs to rebuild and stabilize Gaza - expressed strong opposition to expanding Israeli sovereignty in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it captured it from Jordan during the Six-Day War. Since then, Israeli governments have sought to consolidate control over the territory, including by declaring large areas as 'state land', making Palestinian private ownership impossible.

According to The Guardian, following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that launched the Israeli offensive in Gaza, the far-right government in Jerusalem embarked on an unprecedented expansion of settlements. In August, Israel approved a project to build 3,400 homes in the so-called E1 area, which would physically separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem - a move that would make it virtually impossible for a viable Palestinian state to emerge.

Along with political action, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians is increasing. As The Guardian reported, citing UN data, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since October 2023, and thousands more have been forcibly displaced. In the first half of 2025 alone, there were 757 settler attacks, an increase of 13 % from the same period the previous year.

Asked about the growing violence from extremist settlers, Rubio said the United States "are concerned about anything that could destabilise what they have been working on for a long time".

The Guardian also reported that Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday heard the question of whether to allow international media access to the Gaza Strip. The court gave the state 30 days to present a new position - because until now, Israel has virtually blocked foreign journalists from entering Gaza since the start of the war.

According to both Reuters and The Guardian, Rubio's statement sent a clear message: while the United States remains a key ally of Israel, it does not intend to support actions that could destroy the delicate balance in the region. If the annexation were to take place, it would not only be a violation of international law, but would also fundamentally undermine efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

gnews.cz - GH