Trump opposes Israeli 'annexation' of West Bank: Republican sources
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The anonymous statements come after heightened speculation in recent weeks about Trump's nominations of pro-"Israel" officials in his future cabinet who support West Bank "annexation".
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President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, on November 5, 2020. (AP)
Republican Party sources have revealed that President-elect Donald Trump is opposed to "Israel's" ambitions to "annex" the occupied West Bank.
According to the Israeli site Ynet News, a top Republican Senator close to the President-elect has stated that "Trump will not approve the annexation" of the West Bank.
The incoming president believes that such a step would be "a mistake for Israel" and would harm the occupation's international position, which has already been seriously harmed by the war on Gaza for over a year now.
Trump is also apparently concerned that any official "annexation" will further disrupt and derail efforts to achieve normalization between "Israel" and Saudi Arabia, which is a key priority for the incoming Trump administration, with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham working particularly hard on that goal.
The anonymous statements come after heightened speculation in recent weeks about Trump's nominations of pro-"Israel" officials in his future cabinet who support "West Bank annexation".
US sanctions companies that build settlements in occupied West Bank
On Monday, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on three Israeli private companies involved in constructing settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
According to Axios, this move marks a significant expansion of US sanctions against illegal settlement activities. It is the first time sanctions have been placed on private construction firms that facilitate illegal settlement expansion
That said, the Israeli settler lobby, along with the Netanyahu government, is now urging President-elect Trump to overturn President Biden’s executive order addressing settler violence and to lift all sanctions implemented over the past ten months.
Reversing these sanctions could serve as one of Trump's initial foreign policy actions.
It is worth mentioning that rightwing Israeli settlers and extremist Zionists have expressed enthusiastic support for nominations in Trump's incoming administration, seeing it as an unprecedented chance to expand the Israeli presence in the occupied territories and effectively end any possibility of a Palestinian state, The Guardian reported Sunday.
Trump's nomination of pro-settlement officials is viewed by some as a "dream team" that could significantly reshape the region, with many activists calling it a "unique and special opportunity" for "Israel".
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
