Axios: Rubio to discuss possible West Bank annexation with Netanyahu
Marco Rubio (Photo: EPA)

Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio during his visit to Israel plans to discuss with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of annexing part of the occupied West Bank. About this reports Axios, citing Israeli and American officials.

The conversation will take place in response to the planned recognition of the State of Palestine by numerous Western countries.

Netanyahu has not yet made a decision on the scope of the annexation. According to an Israeli official, Netanyahu met with Rubio to find out whether the US president will support the Donald Trump annexation.

Two Israeli officials told Axios that Rubio has made it clear in private meetings that he is not opposed to the annexation of the West Bank and that the Trump administration will not prevent it.

According to a U.S. official, Israel's statements caused anxiety in the Trump administration, mainly because there was no clear U.S. position on the issue, and there was a feeling that the Israeli government was trying to limit the Trump administration.

According to the American official, the main concern of White House and State Department officials was that Israel's annexation of the West Bank could lead to the collapse of the Abrahamic Accords and "ruin Trump's legacy."

A source familiar with the situation said that the United Arab Emirates had once again made its position clear to the State Department on the eve of Rubio's visit to Israel.

"The White House is obviously involved in various policy discussions on the Middle East. We don't comment on internal meetings that may or may not have taken place," a White House official told Axios.

Before leaving for Israel, Rubio told reporters that he plans to discuss with the government the reaction to the expected wave of Palestinian state recognition.

"We have warned the Europeans that there will be a counter-reaction," he emphasized.

When asked whether Washington was ready to approve Israel's retaliatory actions, Rubio said that it could be announced next week.

At the same time, a senior Israeli official said that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to find out from Rubio how much leeway the United States is willing to give Israel in responding to the recognition of Palestine, particularly in the issue of the possible annexation of the West Bank.

Rubio is expected to participate in an event organized by a group of Israeli settlers at a politically sensitive archaeological site near the Palestinian village of Silwan in East Jerusalem, not far from the Al-Aqsa Mosque.