U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting pressure from Israeli far-right politicians as Arab and Muslim leaders warned of grave regional consequences.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump declared, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen. There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”
His comments come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, after weeks of mounting pressure from his coalition allies to extend sovereignty over Palestinian land.
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal have recently formally recognised Palestinian statehood in the last few days - a move condemned by Israel but praised by Arab leaders as necessary to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.
About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
Trump has faced strong warnings from Saudi Arabia and other regional powers that annexation would destabilise the Middle East further.
Gaza conflict
Alongside the West Bank dispute, Washington has circulated a 21-point peace plan to leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan aimed at ending the nearly two-year Gaza war.
Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu and Arab leaders this week and signalled optimism.
“We want the hostages back, we want the bodies back and we want to have peace in that region. So we had some very good talks,” Trump said.
Israel has pressed deeper into Gaza City, while aid flotillas, The Global Sumud Flotilla, containing around 50 civilian boats, supported by Italy and Spain navy ships, continue attempts to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Strip.
These boats are in reaction to reports that part of Gaza is suffering from famine according to a global hunger monitor.
Israel insists control of the West Bank and its settlement network is vital for security, especially after Hamas’ deadly 7 October, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. About 20 hostages are still believed to be alive.
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The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem says it will provide on-site passport and consular services to settlers based in the West Bank on Friday 27 February. The move marks the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
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A group of sick and injured Palestinians and their caregivers left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday (25 February) for medical treatment abroad, as limited evacuations continue under tight restrictions.
Hindu devotees in the northern town of Barsana in Uttar Pradesh celebrated ‘Laddoo Holi’ on Tuesday (24 February), a traditional pre-Holi ritual honouring the Hindu deity Krishna.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Four members of Syria’s Internal Security Forces were killed and two others injured on Monday (23 February) in an attack by the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group targeting a checkpoint west of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, the Interior Ministry said.
Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war can be measured not only in lives and territory, but in money. In Part One, the war’s cost was measured in casualties and kilometres. In Part Two, it is measured in billions of dollars.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest State of the Union address set out a second-term agenda built on economic protectionism, military strength and a hard line on Iran, signalling a strategy that pairs diplomatic engagement with firm red lines, Assoc. Prof. Orkhan Valiyev told AnewZ Daybreak.
Switzerland said on Wednesday (25 February) it would make a one-off payment of 50,000 Swiss francs ($56,000) to each severely injured survivor and to the bereaved families of those killed in the New Year bar fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s new Flamingo missiles successfully struck targets deep inside Russian territory, underscoring the continuing intensity of the conflict.
South Korea and the United States will conduct joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, from 9 to 19 March, military officials from both countries announced on Wednesday.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has taken responsibility for his past ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson confirmed.
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