By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel who want to extend sovereignty over the area and snuff out hopes for a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced some pressure from allies to annex the West Bank, prompting alarm among Arab leaders, some of whom met on Tuesday with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now,” he said.
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal are among the countries that have recognized a Palestinian state in the last few days in part to help keep the possibility of a two-state solution alive. Israel has condemned the moves.
Trump made the comments as Netanyahu was arriving in New York to deliver an address to the United Nations on Friday.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.Israeli settlements have grown in size and number since Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. They stretch deep into the territory with a system of roads and other infrastructure under Israeli control, further slicing up the land.
A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan known as the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, received final approval in August. It will cut across land that the Palestinians seek for a state.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition that keeps Netanyahu in power, said at the time that a Palestinian state is “being erased from the table.”
Arab and Muslim countries warned Trump during a meeting earlier this week about the grave consequences of any annexation of the West Bank — a message the U.S. president “understands very well,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
About 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 cede control of the West Bank, a position it says has been reinforced since Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. About 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, are still being held.
Most 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 area and saying the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
GAZA DEAL TALKS
While international leaders gather at the United Nations in New York, the United States has made renewed efforts to end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas by presenting a 21-point Middle East peace plan.
It was shared with leaders and officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan on Tuesday, according to U.S special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump, who remains Israel’s staunchest ally on the world stage, said that he spoke with representatives from Middle Eastern nations and Netanyahu on Thursday and that a deal on Gaza could happen soon.
“We want the hostages back, we want the bodies back and we want to have peace in that region. So we had some very good talks,” he said.
Israel has drawn global condemnation over its war in Gaza, which is nearing the two-year mark with no ceasefire in sight. The conflict has caused major destruction and killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
A global hunger monitor says part of the territory is suffering from famine.
On the ground, Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza City on Thursday and Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people across Gaza, local health authorities said.
International efforts are also continuing to send assistance to help civilians as Israel appears increasingly isolated.
Italy and Spain on Thursday deployed naval ships to assist an international aid flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Michelle Nichols; writing by Costas Pitas; Editing by Franklin Paul, Caitlin Webber and Diane Craft)
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