Vice President JD Vance criticized on Thursday a vote by the Israeli parliament to advance a bill on the proposed annexation of the occupied West Bank, calling it "a very stupid political stunt."

The measure was a farce—it did not change Israel’s policy on the ground, and half of the Knesset’s members did not even participate in the vote.

In an embarrassment to Prime Minister Netanyahu, far-right politicians voted to pass - in its preliminary reading - a bill that would apply Israeli sovereignty to all West Bank settlements.