US House Speaker visits West Bank settlement in rebuke to peace efforts, sparks criticism

US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday became the highest-ranking US official to visit an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, days after several Western countries vowed to recognise a Palestinian state.

Israeli media published a photo of the Republican lawmaker visiting Ariel, one of the largest settlements in the West Bank.

Johnson, an evangelical and Christian Zionist, was accompanied by a group of Republican lawmakers on the trip, which, according to Axios was organised by the founder of pro-Israel lobby group the US Israel Education Association.

"Judea and Samaria are the frontline of the State of Israel and must remain an integral part of it," Johnson said during the visit. "Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you," he added.

The Palestinian foreign ministry sharply condemned the speaker's visit, warning that his comments encourage illegal Israeli land grabs and settler violence.

His visit is a direct rebuke to ongoing efforts by Arab and European governments to resurrect the prospects of a two-state solution and establish a Palestinian state.

France, the UK, and Canada have in recent weeks declared their intent to recognise Palestine in September at the UN General Assembly, as part of a broader initiative to end the war on Gaza, which has killed over 60,000 Palestinians.

France and Saudi Arabia have tried to rally the international community to the cause and co-hosted a UN conference last week to discuss Palestinian statehood.

Israel's governing coalition and opposition leaders alike fiercely reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, while the far-right are pushing for the seizure and resettlement of the Gaza Strip, garnering international condemnation. 

Israeli Lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the annexation of the entire West Bank in a symbolic vote in the Knesset last month.

In the US, both the Republican and Democratic parties are opposed to Palestinian statehood. A number of Republican lawmakers and Trump officials have also voiced support for annexing the West Bank, including US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who is a staunch Christian Zionist.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed recent moves to recognise Palestine as "irrelevant" and insisted that no state will be established without Israel's permission.

The latest development comes amid the devastating war on Gaza, which has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. 

At least 180 Palestinians have so far died due to starvation and malnutrition, as Israel continues to block any aid and emergency assistance from entering the enclave.

The war has been determined to be a genocide by leading rights groups, including Amnesty International. 

Since the start of the war on Gaza, there has been a heavy uptick in the arrest of Palestinians as well as settler violence and the annexation of land.