1 week ago
Last Updated:November 12, 2024, 15:24 IST
According to Israel, the annexation of West Bank was discussed in Trump’s first term as well. The US has for decades backed a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine
Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the country will seek the Donald Trump administration's help in annexing the West Bank. (Image: Reuters/File)
Soon after Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the country will seek the Donald Trump administration’s help in annexing the West Bank, two former aides of the US President-elect said it should not be assumed that he will share the same views.
According to Israel, this issue was discussed in Trump’s first term. The US has for decades backed a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and has urged the former not to expand settlements.
Two officials, who were part of the previous Trump administration, warned senior Israeli ministers not to make such an assumption about his second term. They also told them that support for this controversial move may have a negative impact on other US foreign policy goals, as per a report published by the Times of Israel.
But, far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet have remained undeterred despite the message being delivered in separate talks in the months leading up to the presidential election.
While Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his government’s position on the issue was not yet settled, Netanyahu on November 8 announced that Israel’s next ambassador to the US will be Yechiel Leiter. He is a former settler leader who has advocated for annexing large parts of the West Bank and is against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Times of Israel spoke to three highly placed sources who said Trump’s former advisers have not ruled out him backing the annexation. But, an Israeli official, who did not want to be named, said they underlined that it should not be treated as a “foregone conclusion".
What Did Israel’s Finance Minister Say?
On Monday (November 10), Smotrich said he hoped Israel will extend sovereignty into the occupied West Bank in 2025, and that he will push the government to engage the incoming Trump administration to gain Washington’s support.
The Israeli minister, who also wields a defence ministry supervisory role for settlers as part of his coalition deal with Netanyahu, said he hoped the Trump administration will recognise an Israeli sovereignty push.
He said separately that while no decision was made, the issue could come up in talks with the future administration in Washington.
For years, Smotrich has called for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for a future state. At a meeting of his far-right faction in parliament, he said he instructed Israeli authorities overseeing West Bank settlements “to begin professional and comprehensive staff work to prepare the necessary infrastructure" for extending sovereignty, as per a statement from his office.
What Is The Netanyahu Government Saying?
Earlier the same day, however, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the government’s position on the issue of extending sovereignty into the West Bank was not yet settled.
“A decision has not yet been made on the issue," he told a news conference in Jerusalem. “The last time we discussed this issue was in the first term of President Trump. And so let’s say that if it will be relevant, it will be discussed again also with our friends in Washington. It is important to state that Israel sees what we call Judea and Samaria and others call the West Bank not as occupied territories but as disputed territories."
What Is The US Stand?
In 2020, during Trump’s first term, discussions were held between Israel and Washington on plans to annex parts of the West Bank, which is among territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians, with international support, seek statehood.
Most world powers deem the settlements illegal. Israel disputes that, citing historical claims to the West Bank and describing it as a security bulwark.
(With agency inputs)
Location :Jerusalem, Israel
First Published:November 12, 2024, 15:24 IST
News world Israeli Ministers Warned To Not Assume Trump Will Back West Bank Annexation In Second Term
