US President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that Israel was not going to do anything with the West Bank, as officials in his administration issued unusually harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Their remarks followed a controversial Knesset vote advancing two bills that would annex parts of the West Bank, coinciding with Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel. Speaking at the White House, Trump told reporters: “Don’t worry about the West Bank. Israel’s doing very well. They’re not going to do anything with it.”
Meanwhile, a senior US official told The Times of Israel that “the Israelis can’t treat us like we’re Joe Biden,” alluding to Netanyahu’s fraught relationship with the former Democratic president. Another official, quoted by Channel 12, warned that Trump would “f**k” Netanyahu if the Israeli leader jeopardised the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. “Netanyahu is walking a fine line with President Trump,” the official said. “If he keeps going, he’ll f**k up the Gaza deal. And if he f**ks up the deal, Donald Trump will f**k him.”
The rebuke came days after Trump had already warned that Israel would lose “all support” from Washington if it pressed ahead with annexation. Speaking to Time on October 15, Trump insisted: “It won’t happen. I gave my word to the Arab countries. We’ve had great Arab support. Israel would lose all its support from the United States if that happened.” He added that annexation was “not possible now” and that his administration would not allow it.
During the Time interview, Trump also claimed that he personally ordered Netanyahu to end the Gaza war, which, he said, “could have gone on for years” without his intervention. He further predicted that Israel and Saudi Arabia would establish diplomatic ties by the end of the year, despite Riyadh’s position that normalisation depends on the creation of a Palestinian state—something Israel continues to reject.
The Knesset votes that angered Washington concerned two opposition-backed bills: one proposing the annexation of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and another targeting the large settlement city of Ma’ale Adumim. Though Netanyahu opposed the measures, they passed a preliminary reading thanks to support from his far-right coalition partners and abstentions by most Likud members, who feared alienating their nationalist base. The bills must still clear committee stages and three further votes before becoming law, a remote prospect given Trump’s outright opposition.
At the close of his two-day visit, Vance expressed frustration over the Knesset’s move. Speaking to reporters at Ben Gurion Airport before departing, he described the vote as “weird and sort of confusing.” “The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. That remains our policy. If people want to take symbolic votes, they can, but we certainly weren’t happy about it.” The episode resembled a similar diplomatic embarrassment in 2010, when Israel’s interior ministry approved new housing in East Jerusalem during then-VP Biden’s visit, angering the Obama administration. It once again underscored the difficulties US leaders face when Israeli domestic politics collide with American diplomacy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the administration’s displeasure, warning on Wednesday night before embarking on a trip to Israel that annexation could undermine Trump’s efforts to stabilise Gaza and broker a broader regional peace. The backlash prompted Netanyahu to distance himself publicly from the legislation, accusing opposition lawmakers of deliberately stirring discord during Vance’s visit. “The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow division,” he said.
Further inflaming tensions, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-line advocate of annexation, insulted Saudi Arabia: “If the price of normalisation is a Palestinian state, no thank you. Keep riding camels in the sands of the Saudi desert.” The remark drew sharp condemnation from across Israel’s political spectrum. Smotrich later released a video expressing regret for what he called an “unplanned” comment that was “out of place,” though he reaffirmed his commitment to annexation. Referring to the West Bank by its biblical names, he said: “Those who dispute our deep historical ties to Judea and Samaria hurt us.”
Vance also spoke about future security arrangements in Gaza, saying that an international force, still to be assembled, would be responsible for disarming Hamas—a task he acknowledged “will take time and depend on the composition of that force.” He emphasised the need for sustained international involvement to ensure stability after the ceasefire. The vice president also discussed reconstruction plans for Gaza, echoing remarks by Jared Kushner, who suggested rebuilding could begin in areas still under Israeli military control.
Vance’s departure from Israel was followed within hours by Rubio’s arrival in Jerusalem. Their back-to-back visits highlighted the Trump administration’s urgent focus on consolidating the ceasefire and advancing a long-term settlement. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Kushner were also in Israel, part of a concentrated American diplomatic push to prevent a relapse into conflict and to lay the groundwork for future regional normalisation.