US EditionKnesset Passes West Bank Annexation Bill in Preliminary Vote
The Knesset passed preliminary sovereignty bills on the West Bank with a narrow 25-24 vote, despite opposition from Prime Minister Netanyahu and the U.S. government.
- During U.S. Vice President JD Vance's visit, the Knesset on October 22, 2025, advanced a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, sending it to committee stage.
- Settler leaders and far-right MKs pushed the sovereignty bill, with Avi Maoz, MK and head of the Noam party, rejecting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's delay request.
- Almost all Likud MPs boycotted the vote, but Likud MK Yuli Edelstein broke ranks to support the bill and was removed from a committee while coalition members fled and Yesh Atid opposed Maoz's bill.
- Avigdor Lieberman's Ma'ale Adumim bill also advanced, passing 32-9, while the Palestinian foreign ministry, Jordan's foreign ministry, and United Arab Emirates condemned the moves as violations.
- The measures must still clear three more readings in the Knesset plenum, and if enacted, the bills would apply Israeli law to settlement areas, affecting more than 500,000 Israeli settlers within a total West Bank population of 4,000,000.
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Netanyahu does damage control after Trump, Vance, Rubio condemn annexation push
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself on Thursday from the Knesset’s approval of two bills to extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, after President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke out against annexation. The Knesset approved two settlement annexation bills brought by right-wing members of the opposition in preliminary votes on Wednesday, despite the coalition whipping vo…
Parliament has voted in favour of the "sovereignity" over the West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu attributes the responsibility of the opposition. A new UN report denounces complicity in the genocide in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister's office on Thursday condemned parliament's vote on two bills related to the annexation of the West Bank, calling it a deliberate political provocation staged by the opposition through U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance's visit to Israel.
The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, approved on Wednesday 22 October for preliminary reading draft laws to extend Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, including the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, one of the most important in the Palestinian territory. This announcement comes as US Vice-President J.D. Vance visits the country and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to attend on Thursday 23 October at night.
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