Lieberman sought to push back against those in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition calling for a declaration of Israeli sovereignty over all or part of the occupied territory.
He said annexation would provoke a crisis with Washington and result in steep costs for the Israeli government since it would be required to provide services to Palestinians in the West Bank.
“We have received a very clear, direct message from the United States stating that the application of Israeli law in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) would provoke an immediate crisis with the new administration,” Lieberman said before a parliamentary committee.
Some 2.6 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967.
The US is Israel’s most important ally, providing it with more than $3bn in defence aid annually.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
