Trump White House voices opposition after Israel unveils plan to increase control over West Bank | West Bank
A White House official reiterated Donald Trump’s opposition to Israel’s annexation of the West Bank after Israel announced plans that would pave the way for more settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
The measures announced Sunday included allowing Israeli Jews to directly purchase land in the West Bank and expanding Israeli control over areas where the Palestinian Authority exercises force. It is unclear when the new rules, approved by Israel’s security cabinet, will come into force but do not require further approval.
While regional states and others condemned the plan, a White House official said Monday that “a stable West Bank will keep Israel safe and is consistent with this administration’s goal of achieving peace in the region.”
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank that violate international law. Nearly three million Palestinians live there.
Previously, the UK had called on Israel to reverse its decision, saying: “The UK strongly condemns the Israeli security cabinet’s decision yesterday to expand Israel’s control over the West Bank.
The statement said, “Any unilateral attempt to change the geographical or demographic structure of Palestine will be absolutely unacceptable and contrary to international law. We call on Israel to immediately reverse these decisions.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump in the United States on Wednesday.
A spokesman for UN secretary-general António Guterres said in a statement that he was “gravely concerned” by the changes and warned that they “erode hopes for a two-state solution”.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is considered Israeli territory by many on the religious right.
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the changes were aimed at “deepening our roots in all parts of the land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Guterres called Israel’s actions “destabilizing” and pointed to the international court of justice’s ruling that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal.
A Saudi statement, which included the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye, “condemned in the strongest terms Israel’s unlawful decisions and measures aimed at imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty”.
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and Smotrich issued a joint statement announcing the five-member security cabinet’s decisions, which have not been published in full.
The security cabinet decided to repeal a law dating back to Jordan’s control of the West Bank before 1967 that makes land registry records public rather than secret, and to remove the requirement for permission from the civil administration office.
They said these moves would make it easier for Jews to buy land in the West Bank.
Israel’s measures also envisage the transfer of authority over construction permits for settlements in the Palestinian city of Hebron, the largest in the West Bank, from the Palestinian Authority to Israel.
In addition, the reform increases Israel’s control over two major religious sites in the southern West Bank: the Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah, which exercises limited control over parts of the West Bank, said the move was aimed at “deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank.”
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
