Washington, Sep 26: President Donald Trump has vowed not to allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, offering strong assurances that he’d block a move that Arab leaders in the region have staunchly opposed.
Asked about Israel officials suggesting in recent weeks that their government could move to seize control of at least some parts of the West Bank, Trump was blunt.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” he told reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders unrelated to foreign policy on Thursday. “I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.”
Possible annexation has been floated in Israel in response to a string of countries — including key US allies like the United Kingdom and Canada — moving to recognise a Palestinian state. Trump said he’d spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that he’d be firm in not allowing annexation, adding, “It’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”
Trump prides himself on his full-throated support for Israel, but has also sought to broker an end to the fighting in Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His comments constituted a rare instance of potential pushback against top Israeli officials — even as Trump has continued to demand the release of hostages seized by Hamas.
The timing is also fraught, given that Israel is waging a major offensive in famine-stricken Gaza City, while expanding settlements in the West Bank, and Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the White House on Monday — his fourth trip to Washington since Trump’s second term began in January.
Unlike Gaza, the West Bank is administered by the Palestinian Authority.
Trump has long bragged about his close relationship with Netanyahu. But the president has faced pressure from Arab leaders, who have publicly expressed concerns about Israeli annexation. The United Arab Emirates has warned that any Israeli move to annex would be a “red line”.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. They, and much of the international community, say annexation would all but end any remaining possibility of a two-state solution, which is widely seen internationally as the only way to resolve decades of Arab-Israeli conflict.
Israel’s current government strongly opposes Palestinian statehood and supports the eventual annexation of much of the West Bank.
There is some skepticism about Trump’s ability to compel Netanyahu one way or the other since the president criticised Israel’s recent attack on Hamas officials in Qatar, but hasn’t offered any major consequences as a result.
Netanyahu leads Israel’s most nationalist government in history, and has been under pressure from key coalition allies to deepen Israel’s control over the occupied territory. They were hoping that Trump’s history of broad support for Israel’s policies could pave the way for an expansion of Israeli control over the occupied territory.
Not acting toward annexation might ultimately threaten Netanyahu’s governing coalition at home, though expressing willingness not to move forward also could win concessions from the Trump administration.
More than half a million Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank in some 130 settlements. The international community largely views the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Western countries are outraged by Israel’s intensifying offensive in Gaza, and several have recognised Palestinian statehood, which is opposed by Trump and the US but has been a major issue at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Recognising statehood is meant to galvanise support for a two-state solution. Some 10 countries, including Britain, France and Australia, have done so this week — hoping to revive the long-moribund peace process, a move that the US and Israel have vehemently rejected.
Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, has not joined the calls for a ceasefire or the push for Palestinian statehood, but has halted some military exports.
Those actions have been welcomed by Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank, but many on the ground continue to express doubt that it can improve their dire circumstances as Israel’s offensive continues.
