Trump threatens to cut all support for Israel in extraordinary escalation after JD Vance ‘personal insult’
Donald Trump has threatened to leave Israel adrift if it annexes the West Bank, in an extraordinary escalation as the president pleads for peace in the Middle East.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oppose annexation; However, right-wing groups in Jerusalem see the occupation of the region as a way to prevent Palestinian statehood.
‘If this happens, Israel will lose all the support it receives from the USA’ Trump spoke to Time magazine for a cover story published Thursday following the President’s historic peace deal in Gaza.
‘It won’t happen because I promised the Arab countries.’
JD Vance, who rushed to Israel this week after the Gaza Strip was bombed again, today scolded the Israeli parliament for voting to annex the West Bank, accusing it of a “personal insult”.
Speaking at Tel Aviv airport before leaving, the vice president described the vote as “a very stupid political stunt.”
“I personally take it as a bit of an insult,” Vance added. ‘The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank should not be annexed by Israel.’
Some think the conservative’s symbolic 25-24 vote is meant to embarrass Netanyahu while Vance is still in Israel.
Annexation is unlikely to pass the multiple rounds of voting required to become law in Israel’s Knesset, and Netanyahu has the opportunity to delay the proposal if it reaches that point.
Before leaving Israel on October 23, Vice President J.D. Vance said the Knesset’s symbolic primary vote on West Bank annexation was a ‘personal insult’
Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do not support far-right proposal to annex Palestinian stronghold
Trump said he promised Arab countries that he would not support Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. Picture: Israeli forces confront Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron today
But the popularity of the idea of annexing the West Bank is particularly worrying because Trump’s peace deal to end the two-year Israel-Hamas war is hanging by a thread.
Before leaving for Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the Knesset vote could jeopardize the deal to end the war in Gaza.
“President Trump has already made clear that we do not support such moves at this time,” Rubio said. ‘We’re concerned about anything that could damage what we’re working on.’
In late September, Trump announced a 20-item plan to end the war in Gaza, which Hamas had to accept by October 5, and threatened to escalate tensions if this plan was rejected.
The agreement was brokered and brokered by Egypt, Qatar and Jordan and included a phased ceasefire, hostage release, demilitarization and a reconstruction plan for the war-torn Palestinian region.
In the Time interview, Trump emphasized that it is integral to maintaining peace in the Middle East.
‘The most important thing is that they must respect the President of the United States. The Middle East needs to understand this. “It’s almost like there are more Presidents than countries,” he said.
Trump believes a cleansed Gaza could attract tourism, comparing it to luxury destinations such as Dubai, Monaco and the French Riviera.
Trump told Time Magazine that Israel would lose all support from the US if it annexed the West Bank
Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visited Israel this week during the early stages of the ceasefire with Hamas. The couple toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem earlier today
His deal includes a lengthy and potentially very expensive plan to turn war-torn Gaza into a sought-after holiday destination.
The plan remains valid but fragile in the early stages.
The ceasefire is active, major hostage exchanges have taken place, and aid is flowing into Gaza.
However, there are still some major issues that challenge the agreement, such as the failure to return the remains of dead hostages and Israel’s political moves to annex other Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
The United Arab Emirates, a key ally of the US and Israel in achieving peace in Gaza, insists annexation would be a ‘red line’.
Some right-wing members of the Israeli Parliament are unhappy with the ceasefire and believe the Jewish state made too many security sacrifices in the agreement.
