Israel pushes West Bank annexation while threatening terror across the Middle East

Fresh from its unprovoked “terror attack” on Doha and threats to bomb every Arab country, Israel is now said to be coordinating with senior US officials on plans to annex large parts of the illegally occupied West Bank. The discussions reportedly took place during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Israel this week, even as Israeli jets continue their bombing campaign across seven Arab states.

Rubio met with the International Criminal Court fugitive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday, following Israel’s brazen strike on the Qatari capital last week. In an extraordinary escalation, the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, issued a regional warning: “This is a message to the entire Middle East.” Qatar has since denounced the bombing as state terrorism, while Arab and Islamic states prepare for an emergency summit.

هذه رسالة لكل الشرق الأوسط pic.twitter.com/K9b5klGKMx

— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) September 9, 2025

Despite this assault on a key Arab ally and strategic US partner, Rubio’s visit proceeded without pause. He and Netanyahu conducted a joint appearance at the Western Wall in the occupied West Bank, accompanied by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee. The Israeli leader used the moment to hail a bilateral alliance saying that it is “as strong and as durable as the stones of the Western Wall.” Rubio brushed aside outrage over the Doha strike, insisted that Washington’s ties with Israel would “remain strong.”

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Rubio also visited the controversial City of David archaeological site in occupied East Jerusalem, located in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, where Israeli settlers have displaced Palestinian families.

Behind closed doors, however, Rubio’s meetings took on a more ominous tone. According to Axios, Netanyahu used the opportunity to probe whether the Trump administration would support the formal annexation of the West Bank in response to an expected wave of state recognitions for Palestine at the UN later this month.

Israel’s far-right coalition has long pushed for annexation, and Netanyahu now appears to view this moment as an opportunity to escalate the project of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people by formally annexing the West Bank in defiance of international law.

Two Israeli officials told Axios that Rubio had privately signalled that he would not oppose such a move and that the Trump administration was unlikely to object either. The White House has so far declined to confirm or deny whether this represents official US policy, but sources in Washington say internal meetings have already been held to find a position that will not “leave the US stance open for interpretation.”

The annexation push comes as Israel expands its aggression well beyond Gaza. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have bombed targets in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Tunisia and now Qatar. Analysts increasingly frame Israel’s regional escalation as part of a broader strategy to impose unchallenged Zionist hegemony across the Middle East.

In response to Israel’s annexation plans, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has warned that the move would upend the Abraham Accords and collapse the fragile normalisation agreement. But like previous threats from Arab capitals, the statement has not been followed by any concrete diplomatic or economic action. By contrast, Israel’s message is being delivered through bombs and war crimes.

Far from de-escalating, Israel has signalled that no Arab capital is beyond its reach and no regional border will prevent its campaign to entrench apartheid and occupation. The bombing of Doha is seen as a deliberate humiliation not only of Qatar but of any Arab state that dares to advocate for Palestinian rights.