Donald Trump has announced that he will not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go ahead with the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The US president told White House reporters before Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday: “I will not let Israel annex the West Bank… It’s just not going to happen.”

Trump, who is set to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, also said that a ceasefire agreement about the conflict in Gaza is “pretty close.”

Israel is facing increasing international pressure to deal with the conflict and occupation of the West Bank, as more Western countries officially recognize the existence of an independent Palestinian state. Far-right Israelis see annexation as a way to block the creation of a Palestinian state. Ultranationalists in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have repeated their calls for Israel to fully annex the West Bank, which is part of the Palestinian territories.

The UK and Germany have said they warned Israel against going for annexation, while UN Secretary General António Guterres noted that such a move would be “morally, legally, and politically unacceptable.”

On Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had discussions with Netanyahu and other leaders from the Middle East.

“We are getting pretty close to finalizing a deal on Gaza, and maybe even achieving peace,” Trump said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke to the UN General Assembly through a video link on the same day, showing his willingness to work with world leaders to carry out a peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians that France announced on Monday.

The 89-year-old man was prevented from traveling to New York, where the UN headquarters is based, by the United States.

Abbas thanked the nations that have recently acknowledged a Palestinian state, starting with Canada, Australia, the UK, and Portugal on Sunday, followed by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, and Denmark.

Currently, the US is against recognizing Palestine, arguing that it would reward Hamas.

“Hamas will not play a role in governance,” Abbas mentioned during his speech. He also urged for a Palestinian state to take on “full responsibilities” for the Gaza Strip after an Israeli withdrawal and to create a connection with the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

During the UN meeting on Tuesday, Trump engaged with leaders from important Arab and Muslim nations, who cautioned him about the repercussions if Israel proceeded with annexation.

“I think the US president is well aware of the risks and dangers associated with annexation in the West Bank,” said Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to reporters afterward.

On Wednesday morning, Israel shut down the only crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and neighboring Jordan, blocking over two million Palestinians from accessing the outside world.

This closure occurred just days after a Jordanian gunman, who was killed at the scene, shot and killed two Israeli military personnel near the crossing.

In Gaza, local hospitals reported that more than 80 Palestinians, including women and children, lost their lives due to Israeli fire on Wednesday, with most of the casualties happening in Gaza City.

The Israeli military initiated a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to around 1,200 deaths and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,419 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas, which includes over 18,000 children.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a group backed by the United Nations, said that more than half a million people in Gaza are experiencing “catastrophic” situations filled with “hunger, poverty, and death.” Netanyahu has always denied claims of starvation in Gaza.

A United Nations inquiry commission has found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but Israel’s foreign ministry has strongly rejected this as “distorted and false.”

Israel is under increasing pressure to end the war and occupation.

As more countries recognize a Palestinian state, the European Commission has proposed actions to restrict trade with Israel and impose sanctions on extreme officials in its government, which, if put into action, would be the EU’s toughest response to the situation in Gaza.

This week, Microsoft has stopped certain services to a part of Israel’s Ministry of Defence after an investigation revealed that its technology was used for widespread surveillance of people in Gaza.
But Netanyahu has called for Israel to become more self-sufficient.