What's Happening in the West Bank?

In a surprising turn of events, Israel's parliament has given the initial green light to a bill that would extend Israeli law to the occupied West Bank. This move is seen as a step towards annexation, a highly contentious issue as Palestinians claim this land for their future state. The vote took place while U. S. Vice President JD Vance was visiting Israel. Interestingly, this comes just a month after President Donald Trump stated that he would not support Israel's annexation of the West Bank. The bill, which was not backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, passed with a narrow margin of 25-24. Another bill, proposing the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement, won by a wider margin of 31-9. Some members of Netanyahu's coalition, including those from the Jewish Power party and the Religious Zionism faction, voted in favor of the bill. This is not a new demand; members of Netanyahu's coalition have been calling for the annexation of parts of the West Bank for years, citing biblical and historical ties to the territory. The United Nations' highest court ruled in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, is illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Israel, however, argues that the territories it captured in the 1967 war are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands. Most of the international community disagrees with this stance. Netanyahu's government had considered annexation as a response to several Western allies recognizing a Palestinian state in September. However, this plan seemed to be scrapped after Trump's objection. Netanyahu himself has not been clear about his stance on annexation since he dropped a past election pledge in 2020 in favor of normalizing ties with the UAE and Bahrain. The UAE, a key Arab country that established ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, has warned that annexation of the West Bank is a red line for them. A senior Emirati official recently stated that they believe they have averted annexation, but the recent vote suggests otherwise.