“A stable West Bank ensures Israel’s security and aligns with the administration’s goal of achieving peace in the region,” the White House official told Reuters.
The statement came after Israel’s security cabinet approved decisions easing land purchases by Jewish settlers in the West Bank and expanding Israeli authorities’ powers there, moves that Israel’s daily Haaretz reported would nullify provisions of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the measures were illegal and amounted to de facto annexation. Eight Arab and Muslim countries condemned the decisions, and Britain on Monday urged Israel to reverse them.
The measures were adopted three days before a planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump in Washington.
The new rules abolish a ban on Jewish land purchases in Palestinian territories and shift authority over building permits from Palestinian to Israeli officials. The Israeli government has acknowledged the steps amount to annexation, which is illegal under international law.
Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said openly that “the goal is to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The measures have drawn widespread condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union, Britain and Arab states, and criticism even from the United States, Israel’s closest ally.
Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal under international law. A U.N. envoy said in 2021 that the settlement enterprise bore hallmarks of war crimes. The United Nations reported that settlement expansion in the West Bank accelerated last year at the fastest pace since monitoring began.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump on Tuesday. The two leaders are expected to discuss Iran, and it remains unclear whether the new West Bank measures will be addressed.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio, PAP