EDITORIAL: US President Donald Trump’s warning to Israel against annexing the occupied West Bank marks a striking departure from the generally unconditional support Washington has long extended to the Zionist state. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump insisted that annexation “won’t happen,” explaining that he had “given [his] word to the Arab countries.”
His remarks appear to be an attempt to balance America’s enduring alliance with Israel against the growing need to preserve the fragile goodwill of Arab partners. For once, Trump seemed to endorse that the two-state solution remains the only viable framework for peace in the Middle East.
The issue of Israel’s expansionist policies—including its designs on both the West Bank and Gaza—lies at the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since the occupation of the West Bank following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel’s settlement-building activity has continued unabated, carving deep into Palestinian territory and making the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state increasingly remote, if not impossible.
Despite decades of international censure and numerous UN resolutions declaring the settlements illegal, successive Israeli governments have persisted in expanding them. The International Court of Justice’s July 2024 ruling reaffirmed that the settlements violate international law and must be discontinued, with occupied land returned to the Palestinians. Yet the colonial settler state continues to defy these rulings with impunity.
It is worth noting, however, that while President Trump has warned Tel Aviv against formal annexation, he has remained conspicuously silent on the ongoing construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This silence betrays the limits—and the inconsistency—of his current stance.
By failing to address the settlement issue directly, Trump appears to tacitly support the very process that makes annexation a de facto reality. His administration’s unwillingness to confront this fundamental issue raises doubts about how serious Washington truly is about enforcing its opposition to annexation.
The warnings issued by Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during their recent visits to Israel reinforce the president’s public position. Both cautioned Tel Aviv against annexing the West Bank, with Vance bluntly dismissing proposed annexation bills in the Knesset as a “very stupid political stunt” and “personally insulting” to him.
These statements suggest a realisation in Washington that annexation could jeopardise the delicate balance achieved through the Abraham Accords and risk alienating key Arab partners. At the same time, Trump’s indication that he is considering whether Israel should release Marwan Barghouti—a high-profile Palestinian prisoner and Fatah leader—as part of a broader peace initiative signals a tentative effort to re-engage with the Palestinian question.
Yet scepticism abounds. Critics point out that although Trump has warned Israel it could lose US’ backing if it proceeds with annexation he has not specified what consequences Israel would actually face. The president’s well-known unpredictability and record of abrupt policy reversals leave open the question of whether he will stand firm or shift position under pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the influential Jewish lobby at home.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025