The parade of senior US officials traveling to the Middle East in recent weeks is a clear warning from the White House to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli political factions to not disrupt the recent Gaza ceasefire – including by an annexation of the West Bank – or face a serious rift in relations with the US.
As the shaky ceasefire came into effect last week, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner quickly rushed to the region for consultations. Now they have been followed by secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance as Trump deploys his top allies to tamp down on internal strife within Israel’s fractious Knesset.
One of two bills recently passed by rightwing MPs, despite the objections of Netanyahu and most of his Likud party, would establish Israeli “sovereignty” over the occupied territories in the West Bank – effectively ending the prospect of a two-state solution. They are unlikely to ever become law, especially given Trump’s vocal opposition to an annexation of the West Bank. But the votes have unsettled US officials, who took the unusual step of publicly chastising Israeli lawmakers for supporting the inflammatory legislation.
“If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt and I personally take some insult,” JD Vance told reporters when asked about the vote. “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.”
Marco Rubio said that the vote could be “counterproductive” to the Gaza ceasefire. “We think there’s potential for [the vote to be] threatening to the peace deal,” he said.
The moves to legitimise a potential annexation of the West Bank have already angered Arab states crucial to negotiating and maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and other regional powers “condemned in the strongest terms” the passage of the bills. Trump recently pledged to defend Qatar in case of an attack and is reportedly expecting Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin-Salman at the White House next month to discuss a security pact.
Trump has repeatedly told the Arab states that he can restrain Netanyahu, but as their concern has risen, the White House has dispatched senior officials to Israel to prevent a flare-up in the fighting. The Israeli press have jokingly described it as “Bibi-sitting” – near-constant supervision of the Israeli prime minister to prevent him or his rightwing allies from taking drastic action to undermine the ceasefire or declare an annexation of the West Bank.
“It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” Trump said in a statement. “Israel would lose all of its support from the US if that happened.”
The White House had promised the Arab states that in the aftermath of the hostage for prisoner exchange it could restrain the Netanyahu government from continuing the war or from moving to annex territory in the West Bank. Nearly all US aid to Israel now goes toward the country’s military, including a recent proposal to sell $6.4bn in helicopters and infantry assault vehicles as the IDF ramped up its assault on Gaza City. The Trump administration could put military aid on hold, although this could create a significant political backlash within the US.
Netanyahu’s party Likud publicly opposed the bills, saying that they were “another provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the US”.
But even the appearance of Israel moving to annex new territory so shortly after the conclusion of a ceasefire has set off warning signs among the coalition of states that helped to negotiate the ceasefire.
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