Sawt Falasteen - US pressures Israel on West Bank as Rubio begins visit

Trump's remarks were made to Time magazine by telephone on October 15, just days after the Gaza ceasefire plan he spearheaded took effect, but were only published on Thursday.

"It won't happen," Trump said when asked about calls in Israel to annex the Palestinian West Bank which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. "It won't happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries."

He added: "Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened."

Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday advanced two bills paving the way for West Bank annexation, leading to condemnation from US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday who also echoed Trump's comments.

The United States remains Israel's most important military and diplomatic supporter.

Arab and Muslim countries, which the US has been courting in a bid to provide troops and money for a stabilisation force in Gaza, have warned that annexation of the West Bank is a red line.

In a joint statement carried on state media in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, more than a dozen Arab and Muslim states including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey condemned the Israeli parliament's vote in favour of examining two annexation bills.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party boycotted and criticised the vote, though members of his ruling coalition support annexation.

Rubio, one of a string of top US officials to visit Israel in recent days, will meet with Netanyahu later on Thursday, according to a US official.

- 'Very stupid' -

As he wrapped up his own visit to Israel on Thursday, Vance hit out at the votes in Israel's parliament, which mean they will be brought forward for further readings in parliament.

"If it was a political stunt it was a very stupid political stunt and I personally take some insult to it," Vance said.

"The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel, the policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel, that will continue to be our policy."

Ahead of his arrival later on Thursday, Rubio warned that annexation moves risked undermining the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

He said they were "threatening for the peace deal," as he boarded a plane for Israel.

Asked about increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Rubio said: "We're concerned about anything that threatens to destabilise what we've worked on."

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, where violence has surged since the war began in Gaza with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops and settlers have killed nearly 1,000 Palestinians, including militants and civilians, since October 2023.

Over the same period, at least 43 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have died in Palestinian attacks or Israeli operations, official figures show.

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank.

- 'Ahead of schedule' -

As he arrived, Rubio said the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza would face challenges.

"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.

The truce faced its toughest test on Sunday, when Israeli forces launched strikes in Gaza after two soldiers were killed. The strikes killed at least 45 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Gaza's Nasser Hospital said that one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday in the Khan Yunis area.

During his visit, Vance warned that disarming Hamas while rebuilding Gaza would be a challenge.

"We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza," Vance said.

Under Trump's 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would oversee Gaza's transition as Israeli troops withdraw.

- 'Not enough food' -

In Gaza, civilians displaced by two years of war continued to struggle.

"We were afraid of dying during the war, and now we're afraid of living after it," said Maher Abu Wafah, 42.

"Our lives and our children's future are slipping away before our eyes. We just want a stable life."

The World Health Organization said on Thursday there had been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since a ceasefire took hold -- and no observable reduction in hunger.

"The situation still remains catastrophic because what's entering is not enough," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, lamenting that "there is no dent in hunger because there is not enough food".

C.Hamad--SF-PST