Israel free to annex West Bank under Trump administration, Axios reports
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
US secretary of state Marco Rubio signaled that the Trump administration will not block Israel from annexing the West Bank, according to a post by Axios journalist Barak Ravid on the social network X.
According to him, two Israeli officials confirmed this US position.
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signaled in private meetings that he doesn't oppose West Bank annexations and the Trump administration won't stand in the way," wrote Barak Ravid.
Background
A few days ago, Axios reported that the Israeli government is discussing the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. The reason is that several Western countries intend to recognize Palestine as a state.
At least Australia, Canada, France, and Britain reportedly plan to recognize Palestine at the UN general assembly at the end of September. The US and Israel, for their part, are working to prevent this.
According to Axios, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer and foreign minister Gideon Saar told several European counterparts that Israel may annex parts of the West Bank if they proceed with recognition of Palestine.
One European official said that Dermer even informed the French president’s Middle East adviser Anne-Claire Legendre that Israel would annex the entire zone C, which makes up 60% of the West Bank.
An Israeli source clarified that this option would be the maximalist one. Israel is also considering several other scenarios.
