WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM — U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Israel, stating unequivocally that the country would “lose all of its support” from the United States if it proceeded with the annexation of the West Bank.
The President’s remarks, which first surfaced in September and were reiterated in a recent interview with Time magazine published on Thursday, October 23, come as Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, advanced two proposed bills aimed at extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory.
In the interview, conducted on October 15, Trump was asked about members of the Israeli coalition pushing for the annexation of all or parts of the West Bank. The President was resolute in his response, stating, “It won’t happen. It won’t happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries.” He added: “And you can’t do that now. We’ve had great Arab support. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
This clear rejection of annexation is seen as a move by the White House to safeguard the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as to maintain improved relations with key Arab allies. Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates which established ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, have previously warned that West Bank annexation is a “red line.”
The warning from the U.S. President gained renewed urgency after the Knesset’s preliminary vote on Wednesday, October 22, to advance two bills: one proposing the annexation of the entire West Bank, and a second, more limited bill to annex the large settlement of Maale Adumim. The votes passed narrowly, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly calling on lawmakers from his Likud party to abstain.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters before departing for Israel on Wednesday, reinforced the administration’s position. Rubio warned that the Knesset’s move could jeopardize President Trump’s Gaza peace plan. “The president has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now,” Rubio said. “We think there’s potential for [it to be even] threatening to the peace deal.”
Netanyahu’s Likud party sought to distance itself from the vote, issuing a statement that called the bills a “provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the United States.”
The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Mideast war and is home to millions of Palestinians and over half a million Israeli settlers in communities considered illegal under international law by the United Nations and much of the international community. Unilateral annexation would likely destroy any remaining possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
