US President Donald Trump said last night that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from far-right Israeli ministers who want to extend their country's sovereignty over the occupied territory, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump raised the topic at the White House after an announced phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom they discussed the outcome of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. I hope I will not allow it. "This is not going to happen," the US president told reporters in the Oval Office.
The leaders of some Arab countries met with Trump on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Reuters reported.
"Enough is enough. Now is the time for this to stop," the US leader added regarding the West Bank.
Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war. About 700,000 Jewish settlers live there among about 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"I've spoken to all the leaders in the Middle East (about the Gaza Strip - ed. note), including Netanyahu," Trump said.
The war in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, 2023, after an unprecedented cross-border attack by "Hamas" against Israeli territory. According to Israeli data, about 1,200 people were killed then, and 251 hostages were taken captive. "Hamas" still holds 48 hostages, with about 20 of them believed to be alive, Reuters recalls.
According to information from the "Hamas" Health Ministry the casualties of the subsequent Israeli offensive in the coastal territory now exceed 64,000.