Annexation in the West Bank should be stopped

Trump must be feeling that he had a successful tour in the Middle East.

Right from the start of the visit, in his hour-long speech in Riyadh, he made clear what he was trying to achieve: a dramatic announcement about lifting sanctions on Syria, a deal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a halt to the fighting between India and Pakistan, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and further progress and stability in Lebanon.

However, there was minimal mention of Israelis and Palestinians. They merely expressed a broad and ambiguous hope for the war’s conclusion and the liberation of the hostages.

The motivation to earn deals and political wins drives Trump. So, he’s focusing on avenues that seem more profitable to him — both politically and economically — and that will bring him closer to his dream of a Nobel Peace Prize.

But ignoring the most significant issue in the region can’t last forever. Nature dislikes a void. The place of Trump and his people, who choose to distance themselves from us, is now being filled by others—both Americans and Israelis—who hold much more ideological and messianic beliefs.

And they’re driving not only the shocking and ever-worsening situation in Gaza, but a creeping catastrophe in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well – and not nearly enough attention is being paid to what is happening there.

Recently, the US State Department decided to merge the Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem (which is responsible for relations with the Palestinian leadership) into the US Embassy to Israel.

The new ambassador, Mike Huckabee, an evangelical American version of Smotrich, has taken on the responsibility for relations with the Palestinians—a people he has previously said don’t exist.

Huckabee, a friend of Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, is a regular visitor to the settlements and has said he’d love to have a holiday house in one. In 2017, he stated that Israel has a “deed of ownership” over Judea and Samaria, adding, “There is no such thing as the West Bank, and there is no such thing as settlements—these are communities, these are neighborhoods, these are cities. There is no such thing as occupation.”

Now, this man is also solely in charge of relations with the Palestinians. What are our expectations for how this will unfold?

The Abraham Accords countries, especially the Emiratis, justified their agreement to normalize relations with Israel by the halt of the outright annexation that Netanyahu and the then-American ambassador Friedman hoped to implement as part of Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century.’ However, they’re now failing to use their leverage to prevent the de facto annexation, which is occurring continuously.

The Civil Administration, which according to international law should be managed by the military in areas of temporary occupation, has been transferred to Smotrich’s civilian control; the government is promoting the recognition of lands in Area C as “state lands” to block Palestinian development. Smotrich has already announced that construction in Area E1 will begin soon, aiming to divide the West Bank in two and prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state. Settler violence and home demolitions continue to push Palestinian families from their lands.

The coalition now intends to legislate against the use of the term “West Bank.” Palestinian education systems are also under attack in an effort to make the land unlivable. Just last week, five UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem were closed by police order, leaving thousands of students without an alternative solution and confined to their homes. Each of these steps may seem ‘small,’ but together they are supercharging the path toward annexation—land confiscation, denial of education, and the eradication of hope for a free and peaceful future.

Trump, excited by the honor he received in the Gulf, shows little interest in any of this. The dangerous vacuum allows messianic elements in his administration and the Israeli government to operate almost without restraint. Naturally, Netanyahu approves and encourages all of this, viewing it as an additional strategy to sustain his coalition.

Despite Trump’s camp becoming increasingly isolationist—where hawkish advisors like former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are being sidelined from decision-making centers—figures like Ambassador Huckabee and the hawkish Secretary of State Rubio (who still tries to straddle both sides) are backing the extreme camp in Israel, which systematically promotes the vision of “perpetual occupation.”

As international attention shifts to other issues and regions, these right-wing forces are quietly but significantly advancing a symbolic and physical erasure of any hope for a Palestinian state. In its place is a path to annexation, misery, and permanent, undemocratic control over the West Bank.

At this very moment, it is essential to remember that any sustainable future for Israel also depends on a political reality that allows for a future of freedom and equality for the Palestinians. Otherwise, we will continue to wallow in an eternal conflict that fuels extremism, pain, and despair on both sides.

We must raise our voices to awaken the Arab countries that Israel seeks normalization with, the European countries that support the two-state solution, and the supporters of the Trump administration’s policies, preventing the Jewish and evangelical messianics from pushing us towards annexation.