A bill extending Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move widely seen as tantamount to annexation of territory sought by Palestinians for a future state received preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday.
The vote, the first of four required for the legislation to pass, coincided with the visit of U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Israel, one month after President Donald Trump stated he would not permit Israel to annex the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party did not back the bill, which was introduced by lawmakers outside his governing coalition and narrowly passed 25–24 in the 120-member Knesset. A separate proposal from an opposition party calling for the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement passed 31–9.
Several members of Netanyahu’s coalition, including figures from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism faction voted in favour. However, the measure would still face a lengthy legislative process before it could take effect.
Some within Netanyahu’s alliance have long advocated for Israel to formally annex parts of the West Bank, citing historical and biblical connections to the land.
In 2024, the United Nations’ top court ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and that its settlements should be dismantled “as soon as possible.”
Israel maintains that the territories captured in the 1967 war are not “occupied” in legal terms, arguing instead that they are disputed lands. However, the United Nations and most of the international community view them as occupied territory.
Netanyahu’s government had reportedly considered annexation earlier this year in response to several Western nations recognising a Palestinian state in September, but appeared to abandon the idea after Trump’s objection.
Netanyahu himself has avoided explicit commitments on annexation since his 2020 campaign promise was shelved in favour of normalising relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The UAE, the most prominent Arab state to establish ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump during his first term warned last month that annexation of the West Bank would cross a red line for the Gulf nation.
Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati official and diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that the Gulf state believed its engagement had helped prevent annexation.
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