Relatives of Palestinians who lost their lives after Israeli attacks on a house belonging to the Al-Shawa family, mourn at the Samer junction in Gaza City, Gaza on September 22. Photo / Getty Images
United States President Donald Trump said today that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
It imposes the clearest limit yet on his support as Israel nears two years of war in the Gaza Strip.
Until today, Trump had been publicly silent about calls within the Israeli Government to take Palestinian territory.
Such a move would potentially derail decades of efforts to achieve a two-state solution that would enable Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side.
With Arab allies of the US increasingly vocal about their discontent, the President weighed in as he sought regional support for a new peace plan.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying that he had spoken to Netanyahu about it.
“There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”
His public opposition helped create space for Arab nations to consider a 21-point US vision for ending the war and rebuilding Gaza, said three diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The plan was the subject of a closed-door meeting Trump held this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the diplomats said.
The White House declined to detail the plan shared with Arab and European leaders, but people familiar with the details said it has a clear mention of a Palestinian state and envisions Palestinian and international experts leading a transitional administration in Gaza following an end to the fighting.
A large reconstruction conference would be held in Egypt, the people said.
Hostages and the remains of dead hostages would be returned within 48 hours of a deal going into effect.
There would be a role for links between Palestinian officials in the West Bank and in Gaza, a stepping stone towards an eventual Palestinian state.
The fate of Hamas and Hamas sympathisers remains in flux amid changing Israeli stances. But as envisioned, the people said, it is possible some would be granted amnesty.
He is preparing to host Netanyahu on Tuesday at the White House.
United Arab Emirates and Saudi leaders have warned the Trump Administration in recent weeks that Israeli annexation of the West Bank would lead them to withdraw from the Abraham Accords.
That agreement normalised relations between their countries and Israel, which Trump views as the key foreign policy achievement of his first term, diplomats said.
Additional warnings to Trump came in person on Wednesday as he met top leaders of Muslim nations in the region after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who led a diplomatic effort that culminated with French recognition of a Palestinian state.
During Trump’s meeting with Arab leaders and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, officials with the UAE and Jordan made it clear that regional integration with Israel would be impacted if Netanyahu proceeds with annexation of the West Bank, said a diplomat familiar with the matter.
Trump replied that he would not allow Israel to annex the already occupied territory, the official said, in what would amount to a rare exertion of US leverage over Netanyahu.
Trump and his top envoy, Steve Witkoff, have also raised expectations of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, but Arab officials remain deeply sceptical of a breakthrough anytime soon.
Witkoff and other senior US officials were seeking agreement among Muslim nations yesterday for their vision of a Gaza deal before presenting it to Netanyahu today, the first diplomat said.
Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly tomorrow before meeting Trump on Tuesday.
Both Arab and European diplomats view the plan as an improvement over previous visions from the Trump Administration. There remains deep mistrust that Israel will hold to any agreement and that Trump will remain consistent in his current pressure on Netanyahu, the diplomats said.
Many are still fearful that peace in Gaza is a distant prospect.
Qatar in particular remains furious with an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Doha this month that was intended as a hit against senior Hamas leadership.
Trump condemned the strike and said that he was given nearly no advance notice of it, and Qatari leaders have said they believe it is a sign that Israel will place its security interests ahead of any other consideration, even that of the safety of friendly nations.
Many world leaders believe that Israel is on the verge of an intensified assault on Gaza that could cost many more lives and potentially unleash even more violence in the region.
Officials say more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1200 people and taking civilian hostages.
That Palestinian total, compiled by the Gaza Health Ministry, is likely an undercount and does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
“It’s our analysis that we are really five minutes before midnight,” one of the senior diplomats said.
“We need to pressure now for an end to this war. Otherwise, it’s going to really unravel worse than what we are seeing.”
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