The Israeli Parliament approves a preliminary motion to annex the West Bank.
It is the first of four votes needed in the Knesset for the initiative to become law.
BarcelonaIsrael’s Knesset has taken the first step toward passing the annexation of the occupied West Bank into law, approving a preliminary reading of a proposal that would require Israel to apply “laws and sovereignty in the settlement areas in Judea and Samaria [their term for the West Bank” - the sovereign state of Israel].
This was the first of four votes needed, with the motion passing 25 to 24. The Likud party of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not support the motion. The motion was submitted by a far-right MP from outside the governing coalition, Avio Maoz, leader of the Noam party, who during the session referred to God’s plan to “give the Land of Israel to the people of Israel” and spoke of “Palestinians.
The vote coincides with the visit of US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday and comes a month after Donald Trump said he would not allow the annexation of the West Bank. Likud called the motion a "ploy by the opposition" to damage Israel's relations with the United States.
However, some members of the far-right parties that are part of Netanyahu's coalition voted in favor. "The time has come to implement full sovereignty over all the territories of Judea and Samaria, the heritage of our ancestors, and to promote peace agreements in exchange for peace with our neighbors from a position of strength," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right settler, on X. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is also far-right and a settler, wrote: "The time for sovereignty has come!"
Both ministers have already demanded that Netanyahu annex the West Bank in response to the recognition of the Palestinian state by more than a dozen countries in September. The motion does not take into account that the The UN International Court of Justice ruled last year that thecontrol that Israel exercises over the occupied Palestinian territoriesIt is illegal and should be removed as soon as possible.
Appetite, as a "method of warfare"
On Wednesday, the United Nations’ highest judicial body issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel has an obligation to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip are met, including supplies essential to their survival. It also said Israel must accept and facilitate the efforts of, including UNRWA, and refrain from using starvation “as a method of warfare.” The court’s advisory opinions carry legal and political weight, but are not binding, and the court has no coercive power. in the dismissal of nine employees suspected of involvement in the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, “is not sufficient to conclude that the agency, as a whole, is not a neutral organization”
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