White House: Trump Opposes West Bank Annexation by Israel

U.S. opposition to Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank has surfaced at a moment of accelerating facts on the ground, exposing a widening gap between Washington’s stated preference for stability and the trajectory of Israeli policy.

A White House official said on Monday that President Donald Trump views a stable West Bank as central to Israel’s security and to the U.S. objective of regional peace, even as Israel’s far-right leadership advances administrative and legal measures that critics say amount to de facto annexation.

The comment, carried by Reuters, placed the United States at odds with Israeli ministers who have framed expanded control as irreversible.

It also aligned Washington with a broad international backlash that now spans Europe, the Arab world, and the United Nations, underscoring how the West Bank has reemerged as a central diplomatic fault line.

Stability Versus Sovereignty Push

“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure, and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” the White House official said on Monday.

The statement followed announcements a day earlier by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz of new measures extending Israeli authority across occupied Palestinian territory.

Those measures ease Israeli acquisition of land for settlements, which are illegal under international law, and shift key administrative powers away from the Palestinian Authority. They build on a longer pattern.

On Dec. 22, 2025, Israel approved 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that drew international criticism and deepened concerns about the viability of a two-state solution.

“Burying the Idea” of Statehood

Israeli officials have been explicit about intent. Smotrich said on Sunday that the changes were aimed at “deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state.”

The language echoed earlier comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Fox News in Dec 2025, who explained Israel’s intent to do construction work for settlements along with a heavy military presence when he said “Ultimately Israel has to have the military control over this area. Because it’s so tiny.”

The latest measures include transferring authority over building permits in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city, from the Palestinian Authority to Israel.

They also strengthen Israeli control over Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, two religious sites that have long been flashpoints.

International Condemnation

Eight Muslim-majority countries - Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates - issued a joint statement on Monday denouncing what they called “illegal Israeli decisions and measures” aimed at imposing “unlawful Israeli sovereignty” over Palestinian territory.

The European Union also condemned the move, with spokesman Anouar el Anouni saying it was “another step in the wrong direction.”

The United Kingdom called on Israel to reverse the decision immediately, warning that any unilateral change to Palestine’s geographic or demographic makeup would violate international law.

Spain went further, arguing the measures threatened to trigger renewed violence in Gaza and jeopardized ceasefire and peace plan efforts.

Security Vacuum and Settler Violence

The United Nations has framed the issue not only as a diplomatic breach but as a destabilizing security risk. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israel’s actions were corrosive to a two-state solution.

Conditions on the ground have been deteriorating sharply. UN reporting released on Nov. 8, 2025 showed Israeli settlers carried out 264 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank in October alone, the highest monthly total since 2006.

The figures underscore how settlement expansion, administrative control, and rising violence are converging, complicating U.S. efforts to balance support for Israel with broader regional stability.