Israeli Ministers Call For Annexation Following UN Vote on Palestinian Statehood 

Israel’s far-right ministers intensified calls for annexing the West Bank on Saturday, a day after the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution endorsing a two-state solution, underscoring growing divisions between Israel and much of the international community as the war in Gaza continues, the Times of Israel reported. 

On Friday, the General Assembly adopted the nonbinding resolution in a vote of 142-10 with 12 abstentions, which calls for “tangible, time-bound and irreversible steps” toward establishing a Palestinian state, without Hamas’ involvement.  

France and Saudi Arabia sponsored the text, which also urged countries to recognize Palestine as an “essential and indispensable component” of a future settlement. The United States joined Israel among the small group voting against the measure. 

Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the majority vote reflected “the yearning of almost everyone… to open the door for the option of peace.” However, Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon dismissed it as “theater,” claiming the only beneficiary was Hamas, according to CBS News. 

On Saturday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the UN declaration “a diplomatic attack on Israel” and urged the annexation of the West Bank as “a preventive measure against the reckless attempt to establish a terror state.”  

Smotrich and other far-right leaders in Israel’s cabinet have been pressing for unilateral annexation, particularly after the United Kingdom, France, and other Western states signaled plans to recognize Palestine later this month. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has considered that idea and scheduled a government meeting to discuss it earlier this month. But the meeting was later canceled after the United Arab Emirates warned that annexing parts of the West Bank would threaten normalization agreements and block future ties. 

Even so, Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated his pledge that “there will be no Palestinian state,” as he signed off on a controversial settlement expansion in the E1 corridor east of Jerusalem.  

The plan calls for the construction of more than 3,400 new housing units that critics say would divide the West Bank and cripple the viability of a Palestinian state. 

Questions remain about whether Netanyahu will receive support from the Trump administration over annexation plans: Two Israeli officials told Axios that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has privately indicated he would not oppose annexation, though US officials remain concerned such a move could unravel the Abraham Accords and damage Trump’s legacy.