Trump said to have assured Middle East leaders of opposition to West Bank annexation
A meeting in New York on Tuesday night reportedly saw the US president say that he would oppose Israel annexing any territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority
Donald Trump has reportedly assured Middle East leaders that he will not let Benjamin Netanyahu annex parts of the West Bank, amidst rumours that the Israeli Prime Minister has travelled to America to seek support for such a response to the mass-recognition of a Palestinian state by Western countries.
According to reporting from Politico, a meeting between Trump and eight leaders in New York on Tuesday night saw the US President state that he would oppose Israel annexing any territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. However, there are significant parts of the West Bank not under the PA’s control, leaving the door open to the possibility that the US might approve some aspects of a Netanyahu plan to officially annex parts of Judea and Samaria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed a strong response to the mass-recognition by Western states, saying that he would announce certain measures on his own return from the US. Many onlookers took the Israeli leader’s comments to mean that Israel would move to annex parts of the West Bank, but that US approval for such a move would be key. Netanyahu has faced increased pressure from far-right members of his government coalition, such as Bezalel Smotrich, who are urging the formal annexation of more than 80 percent of the West Bank’s area.
In the meantime, the UAE, one of the key signatories of the Abraham Accords in 2020, has warned that annexation of the West Bank would likely prove the end of the ground-breaking diplomatic initiative, one of the key foreign policy successes of Donald Trump’s first Presidential term.
Speaking to France 24, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had also been given assurances by Donald Trump that the United States will not tolerate Israeli annexation in the West Bank, adding that the US will also oppose further settlement construction.
Macron said that Trump had confirmed that the US understood that annexation would effectively end prospects for normalisation between Israel and Arab countries. The two leaders met during this week’s UN conference, with France, the UK, Canada and Australia, among other countries, moving to formally recognise a Palestinian state – a step which was criticised by the Trump administration.
Netanyahu is due to meet Trump at the White House within the next few days, and will also address the UN General Assembly.
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