Trump rules out Netanyahu’s West Bank annexation plan Says Gaza deal near

US President Donald Trump has declared that he will block any attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for decades.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on September 25, ahead of Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly scheduled for September 26, Trump stated: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank … It’s not going to happen.” He added that a deal concerning Gaza was “pretty close.” Trump is due to meet Netanyahu in Washington on Monday.

The US president’s remarks come at a time when Israel faces mounting international pressure to end both the war in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank. The push has intensified as a growing number of Western nations move to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Far-right Israelis argue that annexation would prevent such a development, and ultranationalist members of Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly urged the government to annex the territory outright.

Warnings against annexation have also been issued by close allies. The United Kingdom and Germany have told Israel not to pursue such a step, while UN Secretary General António Guterres said earlier this week that annexation would be “morally, legally and politically intolerable.”

On September 25, Trump confirmed he had held conversations with Netanyahu as well as with other Middle Eastern leaders. “We’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza, and maybe even peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly via video link on Thursday, declaring his readiness to cooperate with world leaders to implement a peace initiative announced by France earlier this week. The 89-year-old Abbas had been barred by the US from travelling to New York to attend the session in person.

Abbas thanked the countries that had recently recognised a Palestinian state, beginning with Canada, Australia, the UK and Portugal on Sunday, followed by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and Denmark. The United States, however, remains firmly opposed, arguing that recognition would reward Hamas.

In his speech, Abbas said: “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance.” He insisted that a Palestinian state must assume “full responsibilities” in Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal, and be territorially linked with the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

On Tuesday, Trump met at the United Nations with leaders from key Arab and Muslim states, who warned him of the potential consequences if Israel proceeded with annexation. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told reporters: “I think the president of the US understands very well the risks and dangers of annexation in the West Bank.”

The situation on the ground has continued to deteriorate. On the morning of September 24, Israel closed the only crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, effectively cutting off more than two million Palestinians from leaving the territory. The closure followed an incident in which a Jordanian gunman shot dead two Israeli soldiers near the crossing before being killed himself.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Since then, at least 65,419 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks, including more than 18,000 children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

By Tamilla Hasanova