The Prime Minister's Office published an unusually harsh statement in English on Thursday regarding the vote in the Knesset to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
According to the statement, "The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel."
It notes that the two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset.
The statement continues to clarify that the "Likud party and the religious [haredi] parties (the principal coalition members) did not vote for these bills."
It also referred to MK Yuli Edelstein, the only Likud member to vote in favor of the bill as a "disgruntled Likud member who was recently fired from the chairmanship of a Knesset committee."
The statement clarified that without Likud support, the bills are "unlikely to go anywhere."
At the same time, Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz announced that following an order by Netanyahu, legislation regarding sovereignty will not proceed for the time being.
Katz explained that the directive not to advance the bill was given because Knesset members from the coalition acted against Netanyahu's position, causing the bill to be approved.
The Knesset voted on Tuesday, in a preliminary hearing, to approve a bill proposed by the Noam Party's Avi Maoz, who is technically a member of the opposition, to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The bill passed with a majority of one vote. In addition, a bill proposed by Yisrael Beytenu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman to apply sovereignty over the city of Maale Adumim passed 32-9.
The Prime Minister's statement and directive come shortly after US Vice President JD Vance harshly condemned the vote in the, calling it "weird," and saying: "If it was a political stunt, then it was a stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it."
At the same time, TIME Magazine published an interview with US President Donald Trump, which was held last week but published on Thursday, in which he insisted that Israeli application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria "won’t happen."
Citing support he has received from Arab states, the President threatened: "Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”