Will the second Trump administration greenlight Israeli annexation of the West Bank? Trump’s pick to be the next US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has suggested his administration could support the annexation of the West Bank. And in the wake of Trump’s victory, two settler leaders have called for Israel to annex the West Bank.
Former Trump staffer advocates for annexation
In his new book, "One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman argues that Israeli rule over the entire territory of Judea and Samaria – known as the West Bank in most of the world - not only aligns with Israel’s historical, biblical right to the land but will also benefit all parties involved, both Jews and Arabs.
Friedman’s approach to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict opposes the traditional approach of past American presidential administrations that called for a two-state solution. Even President Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” which then-ambassador Friedman was an author of, called for a Palestinian State.
West Bank annexation goes against past US positions
During a meeting held in September 2024 at the White House, US President Joe Biden and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed that the two-state solution is the only framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The leaders expressed their commitment to the two-state solution, wherein a sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state lives side-by-side in peace and security with Israel, as the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with the internationally-recognized parameters and the Arab Peace Initiative,” said a joint statement issued by the parties.
President-elect Trump’s pick to be the next US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the incoming administration could support the annexation of the West Bank, though such a decision would be out of his hands. Friedman and future US Ambassador to Israel Huckabee’s comments have raised the question of whether Israel would move to annex the West Bank.
Israeli settler leaders and politicians call for annexation
In the wake of Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, two settler leaders, Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council umbrella organization of settlement municipalities and Beit El Mayor Shai Alon, called for Israel to annex the West Bank, describing Trump’s election as a new opportunity to expand Israeli sovereignty to the disputed territory. That demand was backed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
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Skepticism about whether Netanyahu favors annexation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unofficial biographer, Anshel Pfeffer, believes annexation “[Is] not going to happen because Netanyahu doesn’t really want annexation. At least not now. Netanyahu had focused on the promise of annexation as a lever to bring out the right-wing base to the ballot box … But Netanyahu doesn’t need it to win an election anymore.” Yet Netanyahu has said, “There is no change to our plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, in coordination with the US. I remain committed to that.”
Do settlers want to annex the West Bank?
In an article entitled “Why settlers don’t want annexation — yet,” Meirav Amir argued that settlers don’t want annexation of the West Bank because it will, “Subject parts of the West Bank to zoning plans and construction regulations. Such regulations will sharply limit the current system of wildland grabbing, including building unregulated and unpermitted outposts as well as major settlement extensions.”
Trump doesn’t support annexation
Plans to annex the West Bank during Trump’s upcoming time in office assume Trump is in favor of annexation. Past comments by former Senior White House official and Trump son-in-law, Jared Kushner seem to contradict that view. In 2020, Kushner said, “We do not plan to give our consent [for annexation] for some time, as right now the focus has to be on getting this new peace agreement implemented.” In Kushner’s book, “Breaking History: A White House Memoir,” he wrote that then-US ambassador to Israel David Friedman went rogue when he told then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Trump administration would back plans to annex large parts of the West Bank. Only time will tell what Israel and President Trump will do over the next four years.
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