A Palestinian man looks at olive trees reportedly uprooted by Israeli soldiers using a bulldozer in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, north of Ramallah, on August 24, 2025. Zain Jaafar, AFP
WASHINGTON, United States — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza peace deal.
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Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack.
"I think the president's made clear that's not something we can be supportive of right now," Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel.
Annexation moves are "threatening for the peace deal," he told reporters.
"They're a democracy, they're going to have their votes, and people are going to take these positions," he said.
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"But at this time, it's something that we...think might be counterproductive," he said.
Asked about increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Rubio said: "We're concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we've worked on."
But Rubio — the latest high-ranking US visitor to Israel following Vice President JD Vance — voiced optimism overall for preserving the peace deal.
"Every day there'll be threats to it, but I actually think we're ahead of schedule in terms of bringing it together, and the fact that we made it through this weekend is a good sign," Rubio said.
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The United States is the primary military and diplomatic supporter of Israel and Rubio until recently had steered clear of criticizing annexation moves championed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right allies.
But a number of Arab and Islamic states, which the United States is courting to provide troops and money for a stabilization force in Gaza, have warned that annexation of the West Bank, led by Hamas's moderate rivals in the Palestinian Authority, was a red line.
© Agence France-Presse
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