U.S. Rejects West Bank Annexation as Israel Expands Control in Territory

The White House reiterated that President Trump does not support an Israeli annexation of the West Bank following a decision in the Israeli security cabinet to expand the Jewish state’s control in the area. “President Trump has clearly stated that he does not support Israel annexing the West Bank,” Israeli media cited a White House official as saying. “A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” the official added. The statement comes after Israel’s security cabinet decided to repeal a Jordanian law that forbids Palestinians in the West Bank from selling real estate to non-Arabs.Building permits for the Jewish settlement in Hebron will also be transferred from the Palestinian Authority to Israel, while West Bank land registries will be open to the public. “For years, the registries were confidential, which made it difficult to purchase land and created a lack of transparency. Removing the confidentiality will increase certainty and allow for more orderly and clear conduct in the land market,” Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich said.Mr. Smotrich, who also holds a portfolio in the defence ministry, said the new regulations will expand the supervision of water, archaeology, and environmental hazards in Area A and B “in order to protect the natural resources and heritage of the entire region.”According to the Oslo Accords, Area A is under full Palestinian control, Palestinians control civil affairs in Area B while Israel controls security. Area C is under full Israeli control. The new regulations have been widely condemned by European and Arab countries. “These decisions are the practical implementation of annexation and expulsion plans in the West Bank and constitute a violation of the agreements that were signed,” the Palestinian Authority (PA) said.Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemns the illegal Israeli decisions and measures adopted to impose unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrench settlement activity, and impose a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank.”Israel’s Foreign Ministry pushed back on condemnations by Jordan and the PA, saying: “The Palestinian Authority, which attacked the Israeli Cabinet’s decision, maintains a death penalty for anyone who sells real estate to Jews.” “The Jordanian Foreign Ministry is concealing the fact that the Cabinet’s decision corrected a racist distortion based on Jordanian law – a law that discriminated against Jews, Americans, Europeans, and anyone who is not Arab regarding real estate purchases in Judea and Samaria. Ridiculous,” it added. Hamas meanwhile called on Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem to “intensify the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers by all available means, to thwart the projects of annexation, Judaization, and forced displacement.”The terror group also demanded that Arabic and Muslim countries expel Israeli ambassadors from their capitals.

U.S. Rejects West Bank Annexation as Israel Expands Control in Territory

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