Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to distance himself Thursday from a Knesset vote that granted preliminary approval to a bill annexing the West Bank, after the measure drew strong condemnation from the White House.

With no majority in parliament and surrounded by allies outraged by his acceptance of a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have set his sights on Israel's next elections.

Two years ago, after Hamas killed and kidnapped its way across southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed finished. “Mr. Security,” as he billed himself, would either resign in shame or be driven out by a devastated public.