President Donald J. Trump on Thursday reportedly issued one of his sharpest public warnings to Israel, declaring that he would not permit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, a step long sought by some members of Israel’s governing coalition but opposed by key Arab partners.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office, reiterating a private pledge made earlier this week to Arab leaders. The remark was a rare rebuke from a president who has consistently described himself as “history’s most pro-Israel U.S. president.”
The move comes as Mr. Trump tries to broker a cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization whose October 7, 2023, massacre sparked the ongoing war.
Arab mediators, hostages’ families, and even Israeli poll numbers show broad support for ending the conflict in exchange for the remaining captives’ release.
Critics accuse Mr. Netanyahu of prolonging the war to bolster his political survival—an allegation he denies.
At the center of the administration’s postwar vision is a plan that would see former British Prime Minister Tony Blair serve as interim administrator of Gaza, supported by an Arab-led security force under a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority, or GITA. “A variety of proposals are being considered—but this will not be relevant unless Hamas releases every single hostage, living and deceased, and surrenders,” a White House spokeswoman said.
Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, briefed Mr. Netanyahu in New York on Thursday.
The administration hopes Israel will endorse the plan either before or during the prime minister’s expected White House visit on Monday. “We spoke with Bibi Netanyahu today, and we spoke to all the leaders in the Middle East who were great people, and we’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
For conservatives, Mr. Trump’s ultimatum underscores a difficult balance. He has rebuked Israel when it blindsided Washington by striking Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, a U.S. ally, while still defending Israel’s right to expand its offensive in Gaza City.
Senior Arab and European diplomats insist only Washington can rein in Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
The backdrop is increasingly complicated. France and other European allies announced on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that they would recognize a Palestinian state, over strong objections from both Washington and Jerusalem. Israel’s governing coalition responded with calls to annex the West Bank.
Mr. Netanyahu vowed that Israel would answer such recognitions but left details for after his meeting with Mr. Trump.
Arab leaders warned that annexation could unravel the Abraham Accords—the 2020 diplomatic breakthrough brokered under Mr. Trump’s first term, which normalized ties between Israel and nations like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. Preserving that achievement remains a core conservative priority, linking American security interests with historic regional realignment.
For Mr. Trump, the calculation is clear: push for a cease-fire that secures hostages, prevent moves that could fracture Arab-Israeli ties, and remind both allies and adversaries that the United States remains the indispensable player in the Middle East.
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