JD Vance calls Israel's vote on West Bank annexation an 'insult'

US Vice President JD Vance criticised on Thursday a symbolic vote in Israel's parliament the previous day about the annexation of the occupied West Bank, saying it amounted to an "insult" and went against the Trump administration policies.

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Hardliners in the Israeli parliament had narrowly passed a preliminary vote in support of annexing the West Bank — an apparent attempt to embarrass Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while Vance was still in the country.

The bill, which required only a simple majority of lawmakers present in the house on Wednesday, passed with a 25-24 vote. But it was unlikely to pass multiple rounds of voting to become law or win a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Netanyahu, who is opposed to it, also has tools to delay or defeat it.

More than a dozen Muslim and Arab states condemned on Thursday a pair of Israeli bills calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, in a joint statement reported by the Saudi state news agency.

The 14 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, as well as the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, said they “condemn in the strongest terms” the bills, which they called “a blatant violation of international law.”