A bill to formally annex the occupied West Bank has passed its first stage in the Israeli parliament. If fully passed, the bill would annex the Palestinian territory and impose Israeli sovereignty over it.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has opposed the proposal, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday (October 23).

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has given initial approval to a controversial bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, the media reported. This is tantamount to annexation of Palestinian territory and a clear violation of international law.

The bill was initially passed by a 25-24 vote in the 120-seat Knesset on Tuesday. It will need to be approved in three more rounds of voting to become law. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Likud party opposed the bill, but some coalition and opposition MPs supported it.

The bill aims to “apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel to the territories of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), ” the Knesset statement said. It will now be sent to the parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further discussion.

The vote comes a month after US President Donald Trump announced that Israel would not be allowed to annex the West Bank, and at the same time as US Vice President J.D. Vance is visiting Israel to try to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's Likud party called the vote "an opposition provocation" and said it could damage Israel's relations with the United States. The statement added that "real sovereignty can be achieved not by pretending to show off the law, but through real action."

Essentially, annexing the West Bank to Israel would effectively end the possibility of a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Hamas, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have strongly reacted to the vote. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "We strongly reject the Knesset's attempt to annex Palestinian lands. The West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza are single geographical units over which Israel has no sovereign rights."

“These bills expose the colonialist face of the occupying power of Israel,” Hamas said in a statement. “This attempt to annex the West Bank is illegal and unacceptable.” Qatar described it as “a flagrant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinians and a challenge to international law.”

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said, “Riyadh strongly rejects all settlement and expansionist activities by the Israeli occupation forces.” Jordan said, “This move is a clear violation of international law, an obstacle to the two-state solution, and an interference in the fundamental right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.”

More than 700,000 Israelis currently live in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are declared illegal under international law.