Vance criticizes Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, says the move was an ‘insult’

By RENATA BRITO and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press JERUSALEM AP U S Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday Israel s parliament vote on West Bank annexation saying it amounted to an insult Vance s scathing remark came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio disclosed he would now be traveling to Israel Vance s words and the intense diplomacy indicate that U S President Donald Trump s administration was intent on keeping up the momentum on the U S -brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv s international airport before departing Israel Vance reported that if the Knesset vote was a political stunt then it is a very stupid political stunt I personally take selected insult to it Vance explained The approach of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel An intense US push toward peace Earlier this week Vance released the opening of a civilian military coordination center in southern Israel where chosen U S troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza Related Articles Battenfeld East Wing demolition rekindles Massachusetts governor s office makeover White House East Wing could be entirely demolished by the weekend Former Chicago gang leader asks Pritzker for clemency following Trump pardon Appellate court pauses lawsuit over Everglades detention center due to authorities shutdown California National Guard to sponsorship food banks due to expected food assistance delays Rubio stated journalists at Joint Base Andrews late Wednesday that he plans to visit the center and appoint a Foreign Amenity official to work alongside the top U S military commander in the Middle East Vice Adm Brad Cooper The U S is seeking endorsement from other allies especially Gulf Arab nations to create an international stabilization force to be deployed to Gaza and train a Palestinian force We d like to see Palestinian police forces in Gaza that are not Hamas and that are going to do a good job but those still have to be trained and equipped he revealed Rubio also criticized efforts by far-right politicians in the Israeli parliament who on Wednesday took the symbolic step of giving preliminary approval to a bill that would give Israel authority to annex the occupied West Bank a move the U S opposes Trump has made clear that s not something we d be supportive of right now and we think it s potentially threatening to the peace deal he noted The bill passed in a - vote It is unclear whether the bill has patronage to win a majority in the -seat parliament and Netanyahu has tools to delay or defeat it Vance visits Holy Sepulcher Meanwhile Vance visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher the sprawling th century basilica where Christians believe Jesus was crucified died and rose again in Jerusalem s Old City U S Vice President JD Vance center tours The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem Thursday Oct Nathan Howard Pool Photo via AP He is then expected to meet Israel s Defense Minister Israeli military leaders and other executives at the army s headquarters in Tel Aviv On Wednesday Vance sought to ease concerns that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East We don t want in Israel a vassal state and that s not what Israel is We want a partnership we want an ally Vance announced speaking beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to a reporter s question about whether Israel was becoming a protectorate of the U S Netanyahu who will meet with Rubio as well expressed similar sentiments while acknowledging differences of opinion as they push forward the U S -proposed ceasefire agreement Israeli media referred to the nonstop parade of American personnel visiting to ensure Israel holds up its side of the fragile ceasefire as Bibi-sitting The term utilizing Netanyahu s nickname of Bibi refers to an old campaign ad when Netanyahu positioned himself as the Bibi-sitter whom voters could trust with their kids Palestinians in Gaza in dire need of physiological care In the first physiological evacuation since the ceasefire began on Oct the head of the World Wellbeing Organization commented Thursday they had evacuated critical patients and companions out of the Gaza strip Palestinians walk trough the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City Wednesday Oct AP Photo Abdel Kareem Hana In a announcement posted to X Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on nations to show solidarity and help various patients who are still waiting for approval to receive therapeutic care outside Gaza His calls were echoed by an official with the U N Population Fund who on Wednesday described the sheer devastation that he witnessed on his the greater part contemporary expedition to Gaza saying that there is no such thing as a normal birth in Gaza now Andrew Saberton an executive director at UNFPA informed reporters how demanding the agency s work has become due to the lack of functioning or even standing wellbeing care facilities I was not fully prepared for what I saw One can t be The sheer extent of the devastation looked like the set of a dystopian film Unfortunately it is not fiction he commented Saberton added that Palestinian women cannot get access to a hospital They often don t even have access to a private space in a tent We have stories of women giving birth genuinely in the rubble beside the road he stated Court hearing on journalists access to Gaza Separately on Thursday Israel s Supreme Court held a hearing into whether to open the Gaza Strip to the international media and gave the state days to present a new position in light of the new situation under the ceasefire Israel has blocked reporters from entering Gaza since the war erupted on Oct The Foreign Press Association which represents dozens of international news organizations including The Associated Press had required the court to order the administration to open the boundary In a report after Thursday s decision the FPA expressed its disappointment and called the Israeli regime s position to deny journalists access unacceptable The court rejected a request from the FPA early in the war due to objections by the cabinet on safeguard grounds The group filed a second request for access in September The ruling body has repeatedly delayed the situation Palestinian journalists have covered the two-year war for international media But like all Palestinians they have been subject to tough restrictions on movement and shortages of food repeatedly displaced and operated under great danger Specific Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire according to the Committee to Protect Journalists It is time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues stated Tania Kraemer chairperson of the FPA Lee announced from Washington Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this analysis