The U.S. reaffirmed its support for Israel and its security decisions Wednesday, while avoiding questions about backing a two-state solution amid Israeli ministers’ calls to annex the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law.
Asked by Anadolu Agency (AA) about Israeli ministers' call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately annex the occupied West Bank, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce directed questions to the White House.
"Our position regarding Israel, the choices it makes, is that we stand with Israel and its decisions and how it views its own internal security,” she said.
Pressed on whether the U.S. still backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bruce said President Donald Trump is "realistic about the current state of affairs.”
"Clearly, Gaza is an uninhabitable place. It needs to be rebuilt with the help of Arab partners,” she said. "We don’t have a ceasefire yet. Hopefully, that will change. But that is getting quite ahead of the dynamic in general. So that is what the president is focused on.”
Fourteen ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud Party urged the premier on Wednesday to immediately annex the occupied West Bank.
In a letter addressed to Netanyahu and shared by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on X, signatories demanded the government "apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (West Bank) before the end of the Knesset summer session,” which ends July 27.
The ministers argued that the current "strategic partnership and backing and support of the U.S. and President Donald Trump create a favorable time to lead this move (annexation) now.”
It warned that recognizing settlement blocs while establishing a Palestinian state on the remaining land poses an "existential threat to Israel.”
Among the signatories were the ministers of defense, economy, agriculture, energy, communications, transportation, justice, tourism, innovation, culture, diaspora affairs, education, social equality, regional cooperation and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
