Vice President JD Vance criticized Israel’s parliament vote to annex the West Bank, comparing it to a “very stupid political stunt.”
When asked about the Knesset vote, Vance said, “That was weird. I was sort of confused by that.”
“Now I actually asked somebody about it, and they told me that it was a symbolic vote, some symbolic vote to recognize or a symbolic vote to annex the West Bank,” he said. “I mean, what I would say to that is when I asked about it, somebody told me it was a political stunt, that it had no practical significance, it was purely symbolic.”
He noted that he “took some insult” to the vote.
“I mean look, if it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it. The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel,” Vance explained. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy. And if people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that, but we certainly weren’t happy about it.”
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the vote was a “deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel.”
“The two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset,” his office noted.
In September, President Trump said he would “allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it.”
