US president Donald Trump promised Arab leaders that he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank, according to reports.
Several Israeli ministers in prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government have called for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel has subjected to a military occupation since 1967, in response to the growing global recognition of a Palestinian state.
Arab leaders, angered by Trump’s support for Netanyahu, and Western officials have expressed concerns that the US president could recognise Israeli sovereignty over illegal settlements in the West Bank in retaliation for the UK, Australia, France and others deciding to recognise Palestine.
Trump, however, has privately reassured Arab leaders during a closed-door meeting at the UN this week that he would not allow Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, six people familiar with the matter told Politico.
Sources said Trump and his team presented a white paper outlining a plan to end the war, including the promise against the annexation of the West Bank, which is partly governed by the Palestinian Authority in a tense partnership with occupying Israel.
Trump met with eight Arab and Muslim leaders on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, but no official statement has been published on their discussions.
Trump said the meeting with “all of the big players except Israel” had been “successful”, adding that the next step will be a meeting with Israeli officials.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was “pleased” with the results of the “fruitful” meeting, which was also attended by leaders of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president had presented Arab and Muslim leaders with a 21-point plan for peace in the Middle East.
“We’re hopeful – and I might say even confident – that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough,” he said.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that a Palestinian state “will not happen”, arguing that it would “endanger [Israel’s] existence”.
His allies have pushed him to annex the West Bank, which is home to more than three million Palestinians. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Mario Rubio last week that he is under pressure by his coalition to annex part of the territory known as Area C, which constitutes 60 per cent of the West Bank.
