U.S. President Donald Trump is opposed to Israel annexing the occupied West Bank, according to Axios News Agency correspondent Barak Ravid.
Ravid said this on the U.S. social media company X’s platform, citing a White House official.
“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” he quoted the official as saying.
Trump previously said he would not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank.
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet ordered the repealing of a law barring the sale of Palestinian land to Jews in the West Bank, and the unsealing of land ownership records.
The cabinet also repealed the law transferring building permit authority in a Hebron settlement bloc from the Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.
The measures also expand Israeli oversight and enforcement into areas classified as Area A and Area B, citing alleged violations related to unlicensed construction, water issues and damage to archaeological and environmental sites.
Over the past three years, the Israeli government has reviewed plans for building around 50,000 settlement units in the West Bank, in addition to the confiscation of 60,000 dunams (14,826 acres) of land during the war.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.(AA/NAN)(nannews.ng)
Edited by Mark Longyen
