Trump Told Muslim Leaders He Would Not Allow Israel To Annex The West Bank

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

President Trump met with a group of Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday and reportedly told them that he wouldn’t allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Muslim and Arab leaders have reasons to doubt pledges from Trump since he has recently significantly damaged the US’s diplomatic credibility by using negotiations with Iran as cover to help Israel launch a war. The president has also claimed he was unaware of Israel’s plans to bomb Hamas leaders in Qatar, an attack that came while they were discussing a US ceasefire proposal, but, according to Israeli officials, he was informed beforehand and didn’t oppose the attack.

The meeting in New York comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fourth visit to the White House this year, where he is expected to push for US support for the Israeli annexation of at least some territory in the West Bank, something he wants to do in response to several Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has previously suggested the US wouldn’t oppose Israel annexing the Palestinian territory and has expressed support for illegal Jewish settlements.

Before leaving for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu again reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state. “The shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror does not obligate Israel in any way. There will be no Palestinian state,” he said, according to a statement released by his office.

According to a report from Axios, Trump also presented the Arab and Muslim leaders with a plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. US envoy Steve Witkoff also attended the meeting and claimed a breakthrough on a Gaza ceasefire was close, but a source told Haaretz that a Gaza truce deal “was nowhere close to fruition,” and there’s no sign Trump is willing to put pressure on Netanyahu to end the slaughter.

The Arab and Muslim officials who attended the meeting, which included representatives from Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan, released a statement saying they were committed to working with Trump.

“The leaders emphasized the need to end the war and achieve an immediate ceasefire that would ensure releasing the hostages and allowing the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid as the first step toward a just and lasting peace,” they said, according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

“They reiterated their commitment to cooperate with President Trump, and stressed the importance of his leadership to end the war and open horizons for a just and lasting peace,” it added.