Knesset Votes for Non-Binding Motion to Annex Occupied West Bank

Jul 13. 2025

The text of the proposal stated that the occupied West Bank is “an inseparable part of the historical homeland of the Jewish people.”

The Israeli parliament (Knesset) voted on Wednesday for a non-binding motion for the agenda in favor of annexing the occupied West Bank.

The motion was backed by 71 members of the 120-seat assembly against 13 votes.

Members of all coalition parties voted in support, including lawmakers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which recently withdrew from the government, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The decision came as part of a “proposal on the agenda” initiated by right-wing Knesset members Simcha Rothman, Orit Strock, Dan Illouz, and Oded Forer, which was approved by the Knesset Presidency on Monday, the report stated.

Following the vote, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana declared that “the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Not Legally Binding

Another newspaper, the Jerusalem Post, reported that the text of the proposal stated that the occupied West Bank referred to as the “regions of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley” are “an inseparable part of the historical homeland of the Jewish people.”

The proposal is not legally or legislatively binding but rather “a declaration by Knesset,” the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth reported.

Although the statement is symbolic and non-binding, WAFA reported, its sponsors “are urging the government to take steps to implement sovereignty over the West Bank, with backing from members of both the coalition and opposition.”

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Illegal Settlement Expansion

Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East War, and in recent months has intensified the expansion of illegal settlements.

In May, the government approved the construction of 22 new settlements, described by the Israeli settlement watchdog group, Peace Now, as “the largest expansion since Oslo.”

“The cabinet’s decision to establish 22 new settlements—the most extensive move of its kind since the Oslo Accords, under which Israel committed not to establish new settlements—will dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further,” Peace Now said in a statement.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

(PC, Anadolu, WAFA)

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