Middle East crisis West Bank

Trump source warns: Netanyahu can't mess with us

The US will hit back hard on the issue of Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Donald Trump and his ministers have made it clear in several statements that they do not support these plans.

- Israel cannot treat us as if we are Joe Biden, a source in the Trump administration tells the Times of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought conflict with Joe Biden on several occasions to score political points at home, the newspaper writes.

Another US official tells the Israeli television channel Keshet 12 that Netanyahu must stay on the carpet.

- If he continues like this, he will sabotage the peace plan. And if he messes with the peace plan, Donald Trump will mess with him.

The situation in the West Bank

Israel occupied the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967 and took over control from Jordan. Since then, Israel has established and expanded settlements throughout the area, and today around 700,000 Israelis live there, including East Jerusalem. The security of the settlements is protected by a large Israeli military presence. Israel has claimed the right to control the West Bank, citing national security and cultural and religious ties to the area, which in Israel is called Judea and Samaria. The fact that Israelis can move freely in the West Bank and are subject to different laws than Palestinians has led to accusations against Israel of an apartheid system.

The UN General Assembly has described the occupation as illegal in several resolutions, which was upheld by the International Court of Justice in 2024. At the same time, the Court called on Israel to pay compensation to the Palestinian people for the suffering the occupation has caused.