When asked about the vote, Vance described his initial reaction as confusion. "That was weird. I was sort of confused by that," he said. "The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy."
Following publication in Israel Hayom that a Palestinian guesthouse shaped like an airplane opened against the law, the Civil Administration issued four stop-work orders for the events complex.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outlined his proposal alongside settlement leaders, rejecting partial sovereignty and urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply full Israeli control over Judea and Samaria despite US-backed calls for a limited plan in the Jordan Valley.
Only 1,096 housing units began construction in 2024 compared to 2,234 the previous year despite government removing settlement barriers. Reasons include high cost of labor and the reluctance to change fabric of small communities.
With White House approval, US House Speaker Mike Johnson arrives in Ariel, the "capital" of Samaria, becoming the highest ranking American official to visit the area. Johnson said that the mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish people.
"What enabled the Holocaust of October 7, which led us to horror and the continuing war, is directly the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Samaria," Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said.
Following Israel Hayom's publication of definitive video proof showing an intact Taybeh church, police confirmed no fire damage occurred to the holy site, prompting Ambassador Mike Huckabee to publicly clarify he never accused Jewish residents of arson.
"You had a Palestinian Catholic church burned to the ground. And if it was settlers from the West Bank, Israelis, I want them to be punished. I want accounting for what happened," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham added.
US envoy says killing of Florida man a "murder,' says he has "aggressively" asked Israel to investigate his death in Sinjil, where he was supposedly beaten to death by settlers.
In an unprecedented move, a significant change has been made to the long-standing status quo at the Cave of the Patriarchs: authority over the site has been transferred from the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality to the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Religious Council by the Civil Administration, in order to conduct structural upgrades at the compound.