RAMALLAH, October 22, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli Knesset approved, in its preliminary reading, the bill to annex the West Bank and impose Israeli sovereignty over it, proposed by Avi Maoz, head of the far-right Noam party, and the bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, proposed by Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party.

The bill to annex the West Bank was supported by 25 MKs and opposed by 24, while the bill to annex the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim was supported by 32 MKs and opposed by nine.

The vote on the bill to annex the West Bank was held publicly, by reading out the names of MKs, rather than electronically. MKs from the Yesh Atid party, including party leader Yair Lapid, voted against the bill in an attempt to defeat it and ensure the passage of Lieberman's bill to annex the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim.

Members of Knesset from Likud, Shas, and Kahol Lavan were absent from the vote, while members of Knesset from Degel HaTorah voted against the West Bank annexation bill.

Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein supported the West Bank annexation bill, contrary to the position of his Likud party. Members of Knesset from Yisrael Beiteinu, Religious Zionism, and Agudat Yisrael also supported it, including Yitzhak Goldknopf, Yisrael Eichler, and Yaakov Tesler.

The Arab parties and the Democratic Party voted against the West Bank annexation bill, and several Yesh Atid members, who could have blocked the bill, did not enter the Knesset plenum.

In July 2025, the Knesset approved a declaration calling for the imposition of "Israeli sovereignty" in the West Bank by a majority of 71 MKs. This approval had no practical significance.

Y.S