The White House: Trump Opposes Israel's Annexation of the West Bank

SadaNews - Reuters quoted a White House official stating that "U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he does not support Israel's annexation of the West Bank."

The U.S. official emphasized that the stability of the West Bank maintains Israel's security and aligns with the administration's goal of achieving peace in the region.

This stance follows decisions made by the Israeli cabinet for political and security matters (the cabinet) recently regarding the occupied West Bank, which sparked widespread Palestinian criticism, describing these decisions as the most dangerous since the West Bank's occupation in 1967, amid warnings that they represent a radical shift in the legal and political reality, paving the way for a broad and effective annexation, and undermining what remains of the international legality and signed agreements.

Just hours earlier, the British government condemned the decision to expand Israeli control over the West Bank, urging a retraction of those decisions.

The British government stated: "Britain strongly condemns the decision to expand Israeli control over the West Bank, considering any unilateral attempt to change the demographic or geographic character of Palestine completely unacceptable and contradictory to international law."

Earlier on Monday, the European Union condemned Israel's decisions aimed at imposing its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, coinciding with the incursion of the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich into the town of "Nalin," west of Ramallah in the center of the West Bank.

The Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the cabinet approved what they called dramatic decisions concerning the West Bank, allowing the sale of Palestinian properties to Israelis, and demolitions and confiscations in areas of the Palestinian Authority, as well as transferring authority in Hebron and the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque and Bethlehem to Israel.

For its part, Arab and Islamic countries condemned - in a joint statement - Israel's decisions aimed at imposing its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and creating a new reality in Palestinian territories, accelerating attempts for illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.

The statement issued by foreign ministers of 8 Arab and Islamic countries stated: "We warn against the continuation of the illegal expansionist policies of the Israeli government in the West Bank," reiterating that there is no sovereignty for Israel over the occupied Palestinian land.

The statement followed a meeting of foreign ministers from the eight countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Turkey.

The ministers warned against the continuation of Israel's expansionist policies and illegal actions in the occupied West Bank, which lead to escalating violence and conflict in the region.

The ministers expressed their absolute rejection of these illegal actions, which constitute a blatant violation of international law and undermine the two-state solution, representing an assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent sovereign state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with its capital in occupied Jerusalem.

The statement from the eight countries confirmed that these illegal actions in the occupied West Bank are null and void, constituting a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli actions aimed at changing the demographic composition and character of the occupied Palestinian land since 1967.

The ministers called on the international community to bear its legal and moral responsibilities and to compel Israel to stop its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank and the inflammatory statements made by its officials.

They emphasized that meeting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people - principally their right to self-determination and to establish their state based on the two-state solution and according to international legitimacy decisions and the Arab Peace Initiative - is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees security and stability in the region.