WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vowed Thursday not to allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, offering strong assurances that he’d block a move that Arab leaders in the region have staunchly opposed.
Asked about Israel officials suggesting in recent weeks that their government could move to seize control of at least some parts of the West Bank, Trump was blunt.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” he told reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders unrelated to foreign policy. “I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.”
Possible annexation has been floated in Israel in response to a string of countries — including key U.S. allies like the United Kingdom and Canada — moving to recognize a Palestinian state. Trump said he’d spoken to Israeli Pri