US vice-president JD Vance branded a vote by Israel’s parliament backing annexation of the occupied West Bank a “very stupid political stunt” in a sign of the tensions between the Trump administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies.
Speaking to reporters as he concluded a two-day trip to Israel, Vance said Wednesday’s preliminary vote — which would have to be followed by three more to become law — was “weird” and that he “personally” took “some insult to it”.
“The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel,” he said. “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.”