Israel’s parliament on Wednesday advanced two bills paving the way for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, a flagrant violation of international law and a step toward formalizing decades of military occupation.

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank," Trump told reporters at the White House in September. "It's not going to happen."

Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called on MPs from his Likud party to abstain from voting.

In a statement, Likud called the votes "another provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the United States."

"True sovereignty will be achieved not through a showy law for the record, but through proper work on the ground," it added.