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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discuss the potential annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli and U.S. officials cited by Axios.
The bilateral meeting will focus on formulating a response to multiple Western countries' recent decisions to recognize a Palestinian state, according to the American news outlet's report based on Israeli and U.S. officials.
Netanyahu, who has not reached a definitive decision on West Bank annexation, seeks information from Rubio about whether U.S. President Donald Trump would support such a move, the sources indicated.
Israeli officials told Axios that Rubio is not opposed to West Bank annexation and has signaled that the Trump administration would not block it.
However, a U.S. official said the White House's concern is that West Bank annexation could lead to the collapse of the Abraham Accords.
Before leaving the United States, Rubio told reporters he would discuss Tel Aviv's response to numerous countries' decisions to recognize a Palestinian state.
Rubio is scheduled to visit the Western Wall with Netanyahu. In the evening, he is expected to attend an event organized by a Jewish settler group at an excavation site in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The U.S. Secretary of State plans to meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to understand Qatar's position on Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations following Israel's attacks, according to reports.
Israel's Channel 12 television reported that Rubio met with relatives of Israeli hostages before departing the United States. During the meeting, he mentioned his upcoming discussion with the Qatari Prime Minister.
According to the hostage relatives, Qatari officials said they are ready to continue mediating for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.
However, the report noted that despite Qatar's continued mediation efforts, a significant gap remains between Israeli and Hamas demands in the negotiations.
The relatives requested a meeting with Netanyahu through the Prime Minister's Office, but Netanyahu's office "did not bother to respond" to the request, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has called on the international community to adopt "bolder working methods" to stop what it describes as genocide in Gaza and protect civilians.
In a statement from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, officials warned of the catastrophic danger posed by Israel's insistence on destroying Palestinian civilization in Gaza, committing mass massacres, and targeting apartments, homes, and institutions.
The ministry stated that Israel's goal is to force 1 million Palestinians into forced migration by leaving no safe place in the entire Gaza Strip amid explosions and bombardments.
The statement urged the international community to "move beyond their traditional attitudes and approaches regarding stopping attacks on the Palestinian people and securing a ceasefire, and adopt bolder methods to protect civilians and deliver aid without any conditions or obstacles."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also emphasized that Friday's U.N. General Assembly resolution provides "a real and valuable opportunity to stop the war, neutralize calls for war and massacres, increase diplomatic efforts, release hostages (Israelis) and prisoners (Palestinians), protect civilians and begin implementing the New York Declaration in all its details."
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