Israel isn’t a vassal state of the U.S., JD Vance said. But when it comes to the ceasefire in Gaza and annexing the West Bank, Israeli decision-making is deeply intertwined with Washington’s current priorities.
October 24, 2025
MONDOWEISS
MONDOWEISS
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Israel amid accusations that the U.S. is “babysitting” Israel to make sure it adheres to the ceasefire with Hamas, October 22, 2025.
(Photo: Screenshot from Israeli Prime Minister’s Youtube Channel)
The succession of U.S. officials arriving in Tel Aviv over the week has fueled consternation in Israeli political circles as Washington ups the pressure on Israel to stick to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. Israeli political circles have bristled at having to bend to the American President’s will, as opposition use the opportunity to lambast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for turning Israel into a “vassal” of the United States.
Virtually all of Trump’s inner circle has made the rounds in Tel Aviv throughout the past week, including U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
They were all there, JD Vance said, to monitor the ceasefire, rushing to add: “But not monitoring in the sense of, you know…you monitor a toddler.” But Israeli media referred to the flurry of visits as American “Bibi-sitting.”
Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz published a caricature on Wednesday portraying Netanyahu as a child playing with toy tanks and airplanes while Witkoff tells him, “Just a little while more, and then off to bed.” Maariv published another cartoon showing Witkoff, Vance, and Kushner closely tailing Netanyahu, who says, “Honestly, I’m just going to the toilet.”
The succession of U.S. officials arriving in Tel Aviv over the week has fueled consternation in Israeli political circles as Washington ups the pressure on Israel to stick to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. Israeli political circles have bristled at having to bend to the American President’s will, as opposition use the opportunity to lambast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for turning Israel into a “vassal” of the United States.
Virtually all of Trump’s inner circle has made the rounds in Tel Aviv throughout the past week, including U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
They were all there, JD Vance said, to monitor the ceasefire, rushing to add: “But not monitoring in the sense of, you know…you monitor a toddler.” But Israeli media referred to the flurry of visits as American “Bibi-sitting.”
Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz published a caricature on Wednesday portraying Netanyahu as a child playing with toy tanks and airplanes while Witkoff tells him, “Just a little while more, and then off to bed.” Maariv published another cartoon showing Witkoff, Vance, and Kushner closely tailing Netanyahu, who says, “Honestly, I’m just going to the toilet.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid didn’t hold back either. At the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, Lapid slammed Netanyahu for getting Israel into “the most dangerous political crisis in its history,” and for sabotaging past ceasefire deals that could have seen the earlier release of the Israeli captives in Gaza. Lapid also said that Netanyahu had turned Israel into “a vassal state that takes orders concerning its own security.”
Things got even tenser during a press conference with Netanyahu when Vance was asked by a reporter whether Israel was becoming a “protectorate” of the U.S.
“We don’t want a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is,” Vance responded. “We don’t want a client state, and that’s not what Israel is.”
Vance’s insistence on what the U.S. isn’t doing, of course, is the thing that cements it in everyone’s minds.
Netanyahu is still chafing at the prospect of an international coalition of forces that would enter Gaza, and has objected to the participation of Turkish forces in particular. When asked about the matter on Tuesday, Vance said that “nothing will be forced on Israel,” noting that Turkey still has “a constructive role” to play.
The visits by Vance, Witkoff, Kushner, and Rubio came as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza was about to unravel last Sunday, October 19, following an incident in Rafah in which two Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion. Israel accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire and launched a series of strikes across Gaza, killing at least 40 Palestinians. Hamas denied any knowledge of the Rafah incident, with reports that the explosion was caused by an Israeli bulldozer running over an unexploded ordinance, of which the White House was reportedly aware.
Later, Trump told Fox News that both parties were respecting the ceasefire as Israel ceased its bombardment by the end of the day.
Political circles in Israel regarded the halt of Israel’s blitz as a sign that Netanyahu had folded under continuous U.S. pressure to make the ceasefire work. Israel’s hardline National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, regarded the decision as “shameful” and called on Netanyahu to resume its full-scale onslaught against Gaza.
Now there’s another sticking point that is continuing to fuel U.S.-Israeli tensions: annexation.
West Bank annexation is off the table. Or is it?
In the midst of this wave of criticism, Netanyahu announced his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister in the upcoming November 2026 elections. Netanyahu is currently the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history, having led a shifting arrangement of right and center-right coalitions for a total of 18 years.
In the middle of JD Vance’s visit, the Israeli Knesset voted in favor of the first reading of a bill that would annex the West Bank. The reaction from the U.S. was unprecedented.
Before boarding his flight to Tel Aviv earleir this week, Secretary of State Rubio said that the vote was “counterproductive” and “threatening to the peace deal.” Vance went further, calling the vote “weird,” “stupid,” and an “insult,” adding that “the policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
But the hardest U.S. reaction came from Trump himself, who said in an interview with Time magazine that Israel’s annexation of the West Bank “will not happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” adding that “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
The problem is that annexing the West Bank has been Netanyahu’s most important electoral promise since 2019. He has been spearheading a years-long legislative effort to make that annexation a reality, starting with the 2018 Nation-State Law, then with the Knesset resolution to reject a Palestinian state in July 2024, and finally with last July’s Knesset resolution allowing the government to annex the West Bank.
This is particularly inconvenient for Benjamin Netanyahu, as he needs to avoid any major confrontation with Washington at the current moment. In a post on X, Netanyahu said that the vote was “a provocation by the opposition to sow discord,” although the bill was introduced by an ally of his right-wing camp, Avi Maoz, who ran in the last elections in coalition with Netanyahu’s own party, the Likud.
But Netanyahu’s dissociation from his own allies is understandable. He now finds himself trapped between his commitment to his voting base and the broader interest of securing continued support from the U.S., whose current administration has a different order of priorities.
Those priorities are what Trump hopes will be his crowning achievement: brokering a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which has clearly said that Israel’s annexation of any part of the West Bank would be a “red line.”
In his first term, Donald Trump also clashed with a Netanyahu-led government that had pledged to annex parts of the West Bank. Trump halted the annexation process by brokering normalization agreements with several Arab states, most crucially the United Arab Emirates. The importance of the so-called Abraham Accords, for Trump, comes from the fact that the remaining Gulf countries that have yet to normalize relations with Israel — Qatar and Saudi Arabia — are the key to securing regional U.S. economic and political dominance. This is part of the larger U.S. agenda of reasserting American hegemony and confronting the rising influence of China. A part of Trump’s roadmap to get there is by integrating Israel in the Middle East.
After its genocide in Gaza, Israel is facing international isolation, so regional integration should seemingly be an Israeli priority as well. But in this instance, integration would force Israel to at least temporarily pause its plans to assert Jewish sovereignty between the river and the sea, as the Likud’s charter put it.
Smotrich gave voice to that supremacist dream while speaking at a tech conference on Thursday, saying that Israel would not give up annexation for the sake of normalization: “If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop.”
Following a flurry of condemnation from Israeli opposition figures, Smotrich gave a halfhearted apology for any “insult” it might have caused, but maintained that Israel would not give up the “heritage,” “tradition,” and “rights” of the Jewish people in “Judea and Samaria” — the Zionist term for the West Bank.
But Smotrich’s statement isn’t a fringe opinion, as much as the Israeli opposition would like to suggest otherwise. Despite their condemnations of the way Smotrich said it, the vast majority of Knesset members support annexation. Following European recognition of a Palestinian state in September, opposition leader Benny Gantz said in a New York Times op-ed that Israel’s rejection of a Palestinian state was a matter of “national consensus.”
But Israel doesn’t even have to accept a Palestinian state to keep Trump happy. It just has to refrain from outright annexation — for now, at least. Even that is something that Israel is finding hard to do.
The ongoing frenzy of political recriminations in Israeli circles is a sign that they’re gearing up for elections and trying to score points against their rivals. What this tells us is that the Israeli political establishment has, at least implicitly, accepted that the war is over for the moment. But the fact that this political theater unfolds in the shadow of unprecedented U.S. pressure suggests how deeply Israeli decision-making is intertwined with Washington’s priorities.
Israeli Knesset Advances Bill to Annex West Bank as JD Vance Visits Israel
Trump has stated that he is opposed to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
By Sharon Zhang ,
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West Bank Death Toll Amid Genocide Tops 1,000 as Israeli Forces Kill Child
Israeli forces shot and killed fourth grader Mohammad Bahjat Al-Hallaq while he was playing soccer with friends. By Sharon Zhang , Truthout October 17, 2025
“We strengthen settlements every day with actions, budgets, construction, industry, and not with words,” the party said, adding that “true sovereignty will be achieved not with a show-off law for the protocol, but by working properly on the ground and creating the political conditions appropriate for the recognition of our sovereignty, as was done in the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem.”
The Trump administration has previously expressed its opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
“ I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope. I will not allow. It’s not gonna happen,” Trump said late last month, ahead of Netanyahu’s address at the UN General Assembly in New York City.
Notably, however, Trump has been providing Israel with ample military resources and diplomatic cover allowing Israel to carry on with its current illegal de facto annexation of the West Bank. Further, in his first term, Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that significantly advanced Israel’s quest for annexation.
On Tuesday, nearly every Senate Democrat signed a letter, led by Sen. Adam Schiff (California), urging Trump to recommit to his pledge to oppose annexation of the West Bank.
“Since your plan for Gaza does not address the West Bank, it is imperative that your Administration reinforce your comments and emphasize its opposition to annexation,” the lawmakers said.
“As longstanding supporters of Israel’s security and Palestinian aspirations for statehood, we are unified in our opposition to unilateral measures by either party that undermine the prospect of lasting peace through negotiations to achieve a two-state solution. That includes any steps by Israel to annex territory or expand settlements that prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” they went on.
The only Senate Democrat to not sign the letter was John Fetterman (Pennsylvania).
Though Trump has spoken out against formal annexation, his administration has demurred on recognizing a Palestinian state. In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Kushner claimed that Gaza and the West Bank are too different culturally to link as a state — without acknowledging Israel and the U.S.’s role in separating the two territories. “You need both places to be functioning — in a good way, where they can thrive before you can connect them,” he said.
However, the idea is vastly popular among the American public. A Reuters/Ipsos poll out Wednesday conducted following the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal found that 6 in 10 Americans say the U.S. should recognize a Palestinian state, including 80 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of independents, and 41 percent of Republicans.
Trump has stated that he is opposed to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
By Sharon Zhang ,
October 22, 2025
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, right, and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive ahead of a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Israel on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.Nathan Howard - Pool / Getty Images
The Israeli legislature advanced a bill calling for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, amid U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel.
The Knesset approved legislation for Israel to apply “sovereignty” over the Palestinian territory in a preliminary vote, narrowly passing with 25 members for and 24 against. The move is the first in a series of votes required for a bill to become law in the state.
Israeli media reports that members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, Likud, were opposed to the legislation, viewing it as a way to snub Netanyahu as his government already takes moves to annex the West Bank.
Indeed, the vote was timed to coincide with a visit by Vance and members of Trump’s top Middle East advisers, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who does not officially hold a position but has been conducting business in the region on behalf of the administration.
The Likud party dismissed the vote as an attempt at “trolling” and “aimed at damaging our relations with the U.S. and Israel’s great achievements in the campaign.”
The Israeli legislature advanced a bill calling for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, amid U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel.
The Knesset approved legislation for Israel to apply “sovereignty” over the Palestinian territory in a preliminary vote, narrowly passing with 25 members for and 24 against. The move is the first in a series of votes required for a bill to become law in the state.
Israeli media reports that members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, Likud, were opposed to the legislation, viewing it as a way to snub Netanyahu as his government already takes moves to annex the West Bank.
Indeed, the vote was timed to coincide with a visit by Vance and members of Trump’s top Middle East advisers, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who does not officially hold a position but has been conducting business in the region on behalf of the administration.
The Likud party dismissed the vote as an attempt at “trolling” and “aimed at damaging our relations with the U.S. and Israel’s great achievements in the campaign.”
Related Story
West Bank Death Toll Amid Genocide Tops 1,000 as Israeli Forces Kill Child
Israeli forces shot and killed fourth grader Mohammad Bahjat Al-Hallaq while he was playing soccer with friends. By Sharon Zhang , Truthout October 17, 2025
“We strengthen settlements every day with actions, budgets, construction, industry, and not with words,” the party said, adding that “true sovereignty will be achieved not with a show-off law for the protocol, but by working properly on the ground and creating the political conditions appropriate for the recognition of our sovereignty, as was done in the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem.”
The Trump administration has previously expressed its opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
“ I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope. I will not allow. It’s not gonna happen,” Trump said late last month, ahead of Netanyahu’s address at the UN General Assembly in New York City.
Notably, however, Trump has been providing Israel with ample military resources and diplomatic cover allowing Israel to carry on with its current illegal de facto annexation of the West Bank. Further, in his first term, Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that significantly advanced Israel’s quest for annexation.
On Tuesday, nearly every Senate Democrat signed a letter, led by Sen. Adam Schiff (California), urging Trump to recommit to his pledge to oppose annexation of the West Bank.
“Since your plan for Gaza does not address the West Bank, it is imperative that your Administration reinforce your comments and emphasize its opposition to annexation,” the lawmakers said.
“As longstanding supporters of Israel’s security and Palestinian aspirations for statehood, we are unified in our opposition to unilateral measures by either party that undermine the prospect of lasting peace through negotiations to achieve a two-state solution. That includes any steps by Israel to annex territory or expand settlements that prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” they went on.
The only Senate Democrat to not sign the letter was John Fetterman (Pennsylvania).
Though Trump has spoken out against formal annexation, his administration has demurred on recognizing a Palestinian state. In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Kushner claimed that Gaza and the West Bank are too different culturally to link as a state — without acknowledging Israel and the U.S.’s role in separating the two territories. “You need both places to be functioning — in a good way, where they can thrive before you can connect them,” he said.
However, the idea is vastly popular among the American public. A Reuters/Ipsos poll out Wednesday conducted following the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal found that 6 in 10 Americans say the U.S. should recognize a Palestinian state, including 80 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of independents, and 41 percent of Republicans.
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