President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he opposes the annexation of the West Bank by Israel, a position that puts him at odds with a recent measure approved by Israel's security cabinet.
"I am against annexation," Trump told Axios, adding, "We have enough to think about now. We don't need to be dealing with the West Bank."
The statement signals a clear break with hard-line figures in the Israeli government, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit Washington next week for talks that will include discussions on regional security.
Over the weekend, Israel's security cabinet approved a series of decisions designed to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.
The moves make it easier for Jewish settlers to buy land and expand settlement activity and transfer some civil and administrative authorities in predominantly Palestinian areas to Israeli control.
Palestinian officials and international observers have described the measures as accelerating de facto annexation of territory long sought for a future Palestinian state.
The development stands in contrast to the framework established by the Oslo Accords, a set of agreements beginning in the early 1990s that created the Palestinian Authority and divided the West Bank into areas with varying degrees of Palestinian civil authority and Israeli security control.
Under Oslo, Areas A and B were meant to be under Palestinian civil jurisdiction, while Area C remained under full Israeli control, an arrangement aimed at supporting progress toward a two-state solution. Critics say the new Israeli measures erode that division and undermine the core principles of Oslo.
Trump's opposition to annexation could add a new dimension to U.S.-Israel relations at a tense moment.
Netanyahu's visit next week is expected to include discussions on Iran, Gaza ceasefire efforts and broader regional cooperation, but Trump's statement on the West Bank highlights fissures between Washington and parts of Netanyahu's coalition.
Discussions on the conflict's future and the viability of long-standing peace frameworks are likely to figure prominently.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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