Summary
- Trump said he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
- Rejected far-right Israeli calls for extending sovereignty.
- Warned "enough is enough," annexation "not going to happen."
The remarks were made by Trump on Friday as Benjamin Netanyahu was traveling to New York to give a speech to the United Nations.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding
“There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”
The way Netanyahu plans to respond to the UK, Australia, France, Canada, and Portugal recognizing Palestine as a state earlier this week has been the subject of intense conjecture in Israel and worldwide.
Jerusalem officials have stated that Trump will have to approve anything Netanyahu undertakes first. The closure of British, French, and other consulates in East Jerusalem or the complete annexation of the West Bank or of smaller areas, like a strip of land along the Jordanian border, are among the options.
British diplomats expressed their concern earlier this week that Trump might acknowledge Israeli authority over illegal settlements on the West Bank.
Leaders from the Arab and European worlds were actively pressing him to prevent him from recognizing settlements in the West Bank.
Far-right elements in Netanyahu's ruling coalition have put a lot of pressure on him to annex the West Bank, which has alarmed Arab leaders, some of whom met with Trump on Tuesday while attending the UN General Assembly.
According to Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Trump "understands very well" the warnings from Arab and Muslim nations about the serious repercussions of any annexation of the West Bank.
Since Israel seized the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 war and subsequently enforced a military occupation, the number and size of Israeli settlements have increased. They further divide the land by extending further into the area with an Israeli-controlled road and other infrastructure network. In August, final approval was given to the E1 project, a highly denounced Israeli settlement proposal that would virtually divide the occupied West Bank in half and shut it off from East Jerusalem. It will span the territory that the Palestinians want to establish a state on.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move that most nations do not recognize, are home to about 700,000 Israeli settlers and 2.7 million Palestinians.
The majority of the world community believes that Israeli settlements in the West Bank violate international law. Israel contests this, arguing that the settlements offer strategic depth and security and pointing to biblical and historical connections to the region.
In an attempt to put an end to the nearly two-year-old conflict in Gaza, the United States unveiled a 21-point Middle East peace plan as world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York.
Trump, who continues to be Israel's most steadfast ally on the international scene, stated that he had a conversation with Netanyahu and officials of Middle Eastern countries on Thursday and that an agreement on Gaza might be reached soon.
“We want the hostages back, we want the bodies back and we want to have peace in that region. So we had some very good talks,”
he said.
Israel's war in Gaza, which was sparked by a 2023 Hamas assault into Israel that claimed 1,200 lives, primarily civilians, has received international censure. More than 65,000 Palestinians, primarily civilians, have been murdered throughout the conflict, which has also caused significant destruction. According to a UN-backed hunger monitor, famine is occurring in several areas of the region.
What actions can the US take to stop an annexation of the West Bank?
The United States can deploy high-level engagement using diplomatic communication and the threat of diplomatic consequences to persuade Israeli leadership to cease annexation efforts. Engagement could include public statements, private communications, and private written statements in which Allies condemn annexation.
The US can use the threat of or impose sanctions or reductions in economic/military funding and cooperation if annexation takes place, using the carrot and stick of funding to coerce the decisions of the Israeli government.
Using international partners and organizations like the United Nations, the European Union, and Arab Nation States in a cooperative effort to oppose and demonstrate a united position on annexation will intensify both political and economic pressure on Israel.