‘It’s not going to happen’: Trump says he won’t allow Israel to annex West Bank

In his first public comments on the matter, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked to confirm reports that he assured Arab and Muslim leaders of that stance during a multilateral meeting held Tuesday on the UN General Assembly sidelines.

Trump also stressed that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue.

“I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank,” Trump repeated. “There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now,” he said.

Trump made the comments as Netanyahu was arriving in New York to deliver an address to the United Nations on Friday.

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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.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the Trump administration privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the recent decisions by Western countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.

However, Jerusalem did not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion,” and Netanyahu planned to discuss the matter with Trump during their White House meeting next week, the Israeli official said.

Even if the warning had already been conveyed privately, Trump’s decision to publicly declare he will not allow the West Bank to be annexed is sure to deflate hopes among settler leaders — which reached unprecedented levels following his reelection — that Israel would finally actualize their long-held dreams of annexation.

Without US support, Israel is much less likely to go ahead with the move, which would have diminished significance without backing from the world’s leading superpower and spark massive international backlash. A top Emirati official warned in an exclusive interview with The Times of Israel earlier this month that annexation would be a “red line” that would mark the “end” of regional integration.

BREAKING: Trump:

I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow, not going to happen.

It’s been enough, it’s time to stop now. pic.twitter.com/SwZjuRqE9j

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 25, 2025

Trump’s announcement could also spell trouble for Netanyahu’s government, whose far-right partners have made annexation a central aim and may be more inclined to collapse the coalition if annexation is now out of reach.

‘Close’ to a deal in Gaza

Earlier Thursday, Trump said that the US is “close to getting some kind of deal done” in the Gaza Strip after his “great” multilateral meeting in New York with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries on the issue.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during the public portion of his sit-down with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “a lot was determined in that meeting” on Tuesday, during which Trump presented a 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.

“I have to meet with Israel. They know what I want. I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get that done. A lot of people are dying,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, September 25, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP/Evan Vucci)

“I’m going to have to tell Israel, ‘Let’s go,’” Trump added, indicating that he might exert some pressure on Netanyahu when they meet in Washington on Monday.

In the meantime, Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed US efforts to end the war and free the hostages in Gaza with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the hotel where the Israeli premier is staying in New York. Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on Friday at about 4 p.m. Israel time.

“We want to get the hostages back,” Trump continued. “We want them all back at one time.”

Trump said steps regarding Gaza could be taken “today,” without elaborating.

“Everyone wants to see that war over with. We’re going to see what happens,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly predicted that a Gaza ceasefire is imminent throughout his second administration, only for talks to subsequently hit snags.

But those hiccups didn’t prevent Witkoff from expressing his own optimism on Wednesday, saying that he expected a “breakthrough” within days following Trump’s multilateral meeting on Tuesday with Arab and Muslim leaders.

While Witkoff has not revealed details of the plan, a position paper on the issue, which was given to the countries, laid out steps towards ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.

Trump’s team is pushing Netanyahu to agree to the 21-point plan, according to Channel 12 news, which said that the premier was briefed on the framework “days ago,” and that he and Dermer “did not like” all of its points.

“Continuing the war will isolate Israel even further, but accepting the plan and ending the war will extricate Israel from isolation and enable progress in more positive directions in the region, with US backing,” a US source told the network on Thursday.

However, the report said Netanyahu is uncomfortable with the fact that Trump’s plan does not require Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be demilitarized as conditions for the war ending, but only post-war.

Smoke rises from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike, September 24, 2025. (Fathi Ibrahim/Flash90)

He also does not like the provision that the new mechanism for governing Gaza will operate under the authority of the UN Security Council, the television report added.

The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was a key player in Trump’s 2020 Deal of the Century peace plan and the Abraham Accords, was heavily involved in creating the framework along with former British prime minister Tony Blair. Kushner was filmed accompanying Witkoff to the meeting with Netanyahu and Dermer on Thursday.

אחרי האופטימיות של טראמפ לעסקה: השליח וויטקוף וקושנר חתנו של טראמפ, הגיעו להפגש עם נתניהו במלון שבו הוא שוהה בניו יורק

@Or_Shaked pic.twitter.com/Mhpi10mpW4

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) September 25, 2025

The White House plan is based heavily on the one crafted by Blair and revealed by The Times of Israel last week. The former UK premier has been holding marathon meetings with regional leaders to rally support for his initiative, which would establish a transitional governing body that can administer Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is ready to take over.

Citing people briefed on the proposal, the Financial Times said Thursday that Blair is seeking a senior role in running postwar Gaza and has been proposed to chair a supervisory board called the “Gaza International Transitional Authority.” The Haaretz daily said earlier in the day that the US is interested in having Blair head up the GITA’s international advisory board.

Channel 12 reported on Wednesday evening that senior Israeli officials do not believe that Trump will “force a proposal on Israel it doesn’t believe in.”

Unnamed senior officials told Channel 12 that Jerusalem sees Trump’s 21-point plan as a framework for creating a “day after” in Gaza, in cooperation with moderate Arab states.

According to the outlet, the Trump administration hopes that the framework will mobilize the Arab states — which the report does not identify by name — into pouring money into the war-torn Strip and rebuilding its civilian infrastructure.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

PA urging countries to stage walkout during Netanyahu’s UN speech

Channel 12 also reported Thursday that the Palestinian Mission to the UN is working to arrange a walkout during Netanyahu’s speech on Friday, which they hope will be joined by Arab, African and even some European countries.

A source familiar with the details of Netanyahu’s speech told The Times of Israel that it will primarily focus on sharp criticism of European countries that have recently recognized a Palestinian state, saying the move benefits Hamas.

Netanyahu’s ire will be focused primarily on France, according to the source.

He will also pivot to the opportunities in a new Middle East after the defeat of Hamas, especially with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu, not surprisingly, will express Israel’s gratitude to Trump, the source added.

Israeli anti-government activists protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City, September 25, 2025. (Courtesy)

Outside Netanyahu’s hotel in New York, around a dozen Israeli anti-government activists protested on Thursday, holding signs reading, “Save Israel from Netanyahu,” “Stop the war,” and “Free them all.”

Chanting “Bring them home,” and “There is no military solution,” the protesters said they seek an end to the war and the release of the hostages held in Gaza.

According to organizers, the families of several hostages will also lead a protest outside the UN Headquarters Friday as Netanyahu addresses the General Assembly.

Non-Jewish anti-Israel activist groups have also been protesting at the UN and have announced a large demonstration for Friday morning around the same time.