{"id":283345,"date":"2026-02-10T05:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/283345\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T05:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:50:16","slug":"us-stresses-opposition-to-annexation-after-israeli-steps-to-expand-west-bank-grip-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/283345\/","title":{"rendered":"US stresses opposition to annexation after Israeli steps to expand West Bank grip"},"content":{"rendered":"

The White House reiterated its opposition to Israel annexing the West Bank and stressed the importance of maintaining stability in the territory in a Monday statement responding to the security cabinet\u2019s approval<\/a> of a series of measures aimed at expanding Jerusalem\u2019s grip in the areas Palestinians hope will make up their future state.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has clearly stated that he does not support Israel annexing the West Bank,\u201d read a statement attributed to a White House official sent to reporters who asked for comment on the Sunday security cabinet decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cA stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration\u2019s goal to achieve peace in the region,\u201d the White House official added.<\/p>\n

The statement did not directly condemn or even address the measures approved by Israel, which would appear to violate the Oslo Accords by expanding Jerusalem\u2019s administrative powers in West Bank areas that are supposed to be under the Palestinian Authority\u2019s control.<\/p>\n

Announced on Sunday by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz after being approved by the security cabinet, the measures include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and transfer authority over building permits for Jewish settlements in the Palestinian city of Hebron \u2014 the West Bank\u2019s largest \u2014 from the Palestinian Authority to Israel.<\/p>\n

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In addition, the reform strengthens Israeli control over two major religious sites in the southern West Bank: Rachel\u2019s Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThis picture taken from the \u201cE1 corridor\u201d northeast of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank shows vehicles moving along a highway near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (top) on February 4, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

The Monday White House statement also did not mention whether the US has raised its concern over the security cabinet decision with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

It has issued similarly vague statements<\/a> calling for stability in the West Bank before, in response to controversial decisions by Israel to expand settlements in the territory.<\/p>\n

Upon his return to office, Trump indicated<\/a> that he was mulling expressing his support for Israel annexing the West Bank.<\/p>\n

But as Israel appeared to move toward the move, Arab allies of the US expressed<\/a> their alarm, indicating it could risk their willingness to assist in the post-war management of Gaza as it would all but foreclose any chance for a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

In response, Trump announced<\/a> in September that he would not \u201callow\u201d Israel to annex the West Bank.<\/p>\n

The next month, Israel\u2019s Knesset nonetheless adopted<\/a> a pair of symbolic resolutions expressing support for the move, infuriating the administration and US Vice President JD Vance in particular, as he was visiting the country at the time.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump (R) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Israel has still continued advancing a slew of measures, which watchdogs say amount to de facto annexation. However, Jerusalem has avoided a formal move in that direction.<\/p>\n

During Netanyahu\u2019s last visit to the US with Trump in late January, Trump\u2019s aides raised their concern over the situation in the West Bank, taking particular issue with unchecked settler violence, settlement expansion and Israel\u2019s withholding of several billion dollars in Palestinian Authority tax revenues, which has brought the Ramallah-based government to the brink of collapse, a US official told<\/a> The Times of Israel then.<\/p>\n

Trump, at the time, publicly acknowledged disagreements with Netanyahu regarding the West Bank but declined to elaborate, insisting that the premier will ultimately \u201cdo the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two leaders are slated to meet again on Wednesday, but the focus of the sit-down is expected to be Iran. Gaza will still likely come as Trump seeks to advance his Gaza peace plan, and Washington has expressed<\/a> concern that tensions in the West Bank risk upending the administration\u2019s efforts to stabilize the Strip.<\/p>\n

The US response to the Sunday cabinet decision came after a flood<\/a> of international condemnations, which were far more direct in their disapproval of the West Bank measures. They included statements from much of the Arab and Muslim world, the European Union and the United Nations.<\/p>\n


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\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The White House reiterated its opposition to Israel annexing the West Bank and stressed the importance of maintaining…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-283345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}