Israel’s West Bank annexation plans are threatening peace, says Rubio.

Washington – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Israel on Wednesday against annexing the West Bank, claiming that parliamentary actions and settlement violence jeopardized a Gaza peace agreement.

Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to forward two legislation aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank, less than a week after President Donald Trump signed an agreement to cease Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas attack.

“I think the president has made it clear that we cannot support annexation right now,” Rubio said as he boarded his jet for a visit to Israel.

Annexation moves are “threatening for the peace deal,” he told reporters.

“They’re a democracy, they’re going to have their votes, and people are going to take these positions,” he said.

“But at this time, it’s something that we…think might be counterproductive,” he said.

Asked about increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Rubio said: “We’re concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we’ve worked on.”

But Rubio — the latest high-ranking US visitor to Israel following Vice President JD Vance — voiced optimism overall for preserving the peace deal.

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“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,” he said.

The United States is Israel’s principal military and diplomatic ally, and until recently, Rubio had refrained from condemning annexation efforts championed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right supporters.

However, a number of Arab and Muslim states, which the US is courting to send troops and funds for a stabilizing force in Gaza, have cautioned that annexing the West Bank, led by Hamas’ moderate rivals in the Palestinian Authority, is a red line.