European officials reportedly warned Israel not to annex part of the occupied West Bank in retaliation for the Western states’ perception of the Palestinian state.
The UK, Australia and Canada all officially recognized the Palestinian state on Sunday, bringing three major US allies into conflict with the Trump administration, eliciting an immediate, angry response from Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned this perception, saying, “We will double the reconciliation between the Jews and the Jews in Samaria (West Bank) and continue this path.”
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gwil called for a wholesale annexation of the West Bank, which was occupied in response to the declaration.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that, in response to the UK’s recognition of the Palestinian state, he warned Israel not to annex part of the West Bank, considering Britain’s role in the creation of Israel after World War II.