Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his ultranationalist government have been vocal critics of US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the country can’t annex the occupied West Bank.
Trump made the surprise remarks in a press conference on Thursday ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Friday US address to the UN General Assembly.
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“I won’t permit Israel to annex the West Bank,” I said. Nope. I won’t permit. Trump remarked, “It won’t happen.”
Trump refused to say whether he had spoken with Netanyahu about his plans to stop any Israeli annexation attempts.
“Yes, but I won’t allow it,” the woman said. I don’t want Israel to annex the West Bank, regardless of whether I spoke with him or not. There has been enough already. Okay, it’s time to stop now. the president of the US stated.
Analysts questioned whether the notoriously capricious US leader would change his mind because Trump did not specify what steps he would take to stop the occupied West Bank from being annexed.
Mouin Rabbani, an analyst and non-resident fellow at the Qatar-based Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, described Trump’s statement as a “positive” development in an interview with Al Jazeera, but he questioned whether he would actually follow through.
One must tread carefully when valuing Trump’s words, Rabbani said.
So the question is now: Will he take steps to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank, and if so, what will he do in response? Will a different conversation that he has possibly change his mind?
Trump’s comments could put his administration in conflict with Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has made the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza a formal political goal.
A non-binding motion in the Knesset calling for the annexation of the West Bank was approved by Israeli lawmakers in July, with a 71-to-13 vote.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and far-right leader, who lives in an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank and works for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Authority oversees the operation of illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory, first introduced the proposal.
In addition to threatening to overthrow the government if an agreement is reached, Smotrich and other far-right members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have voiced unwavering opposition to efforts to reach a resolution ending Israel’s war on Gaza.
In order to allow the construction of thousands of homes in a contentious illegal settlement that divides the occupied West Bank, Smotrich unveiled a plan ahead of Australia, France, Britain, Canada, Portugal, and other nations’ moves to recognize Palestinian statehood.
When completed, the massive settlement expansion on occupied land “finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,” he said in August.
“Anyone in the world who attempts to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive a response from us on the ground,” he continued.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements have expanded into Palestinian territory and carved up the landscape thanks to a network of roads and other infrastructure run by the Israeli military and government.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israeli settlements in the West Bank must be stopped and Palestinian land must be reclaimed.
The Israeli government has a significant influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East, and its ongoing campaign in Gaza, the West Bank, and parts of Lebanon and Syria is heavily dependent on US financial, military, and intelligence support.
Any change in US policy could cause an uprising in Israel, particularly among the far-right organizations that make up Netanyahu’s coalition government.
Trump briefly referred to Gaza on Thursday, and he referred to the situation as “really bad, very bad.”
Trump only provided the phrase “very, really good talks” with leaders of Arab states and Netanyahu, despite suggesting a peace deal might occur “soon.”
Source: Aljazeera
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