US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that President Donald Trump “really doesn't think the world right now needs a West Bank crisis,” warning that the Middle East does not need an “additional flashpoint” amid ongoing regional tensions.
“It's not my view. The president has made it clear that we don't want to see additional flashpoints there, given everything that's going on in the region now, the difficulties in implementing the agreements made about Gaza, the tenuous situation in Lebanon, obviously now the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, and the ongoing friction and conflict with Iran,” Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
“The last thing this region needs is an additional flashpoint, and the last thing we think Israel needs is an additional flashpoint,” he said.
“The president really doesn't think the world right now needs a West Bank crisis,” he said, adding that Washington had communicated that position “to everyone".
The occupied West Bank has seen escalating Israeli raids and arrests since October 2023, alongside increasing settler attacks, movement restrictions and closures of entrances to Palestinian towns and villages.
Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal under international law, but Israel has continued expanding them despite international criticism.
Around 750,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Houthi attacks
Asked about what the US and Trump administration were prepared to do in response to Houthi attacks and the situation in Yemen, Rubio declined to discuss potential military options.
He said Washington has a “very strong defence agreement” with Saudi Arabia and would “live up to our commitments” under the agreement.
“We don't like what's happening,” Rubio said, welcoming the restart of Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, which had been shut after drone attacks which Saudi Arabia has blamed on an Iraqi group.
Rubio also accused Iranian-backed groups of attacking energy infrastructure and civilians in the region, saying Iran “actively supports organisations in the Middle East” that target such sites.
“Every time you guys ask me a question about the Middle East, it goes back to someone who's supported by Iran,” he said.
Rubio also said Trump had “many options available to him".
