U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday pledged that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, opposing calls from some far-right Israeli politicians seeking to expand sovereignty over Palestinian lands and undermine hopes for a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced significant pressure from coalition allies to annex the West Bank, raising concerns among Arab leaders, some of whom met with Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow it. It will not happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“Enough is enough. It is time to stop now,” he added.
France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal are among the countries that recently recognized the Palestinian state, partly to keep alive the possibility of a two-state solution. Israel has condemned these recognitions.
Netanyahu arrived in New York to deliver a speech at the United Nations on Friday. His office stated that he will respond to Trump’s statement upon returning to Israel.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank have expanded in size and number since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 war. These settlements are built deep into Palestinian land, with roads and other infrastructure under Israeli control, further fragmenting the territory.
A settlement plan known as the E1 project, criticized by many countries, was approved in August. The project would split the occupied West Bank in two and sever it from East Jerusalem.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist in Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, said at the time that “the Palestinian state is being removed from the table.”
Arab and Muslim countries warned Trump earlier this week about the severe consequences of West Bank annexation—a message the U.S. president “understands very well,” according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized by most countries. Israel refuses to relinquish control over the West Bank.
The majority of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land and arguing that the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
