Trump stresses 'annexation' of West Bank 'will not happen': Time
5 Min Read
In an interview for Time, the US president warned that "Israel" would lose US support if it "annexed" the West Bank, while discussing Gaza, Saudi ties, and Marwan Barghouti.
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US President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, October 22, 2025, in Washington (AP)
US President Donald Trump, in a phone interview with Time Magazine published on October 23, 2025, said that "Israel" would lose Washington's support if it moved forward with "annexing" the West Bank.
"It won't happen. It won't happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries," Trump said in the interview originally conducted on October 15. "We've had great Arab support ... It will not happen. 'Israel' would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened."
Trump's comments came days before the Knesset approved a bill to apply Israeli "sovereignty" over the West Bank and the approval of another bill to "annex" a major city settlement.
The approval sparked outrage, with Hamas and neighboring Arab nations, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, issuing public condemnations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also voiced caution over the "annexation" of the West Bank, stating on Thursday that it would threaten the deal.
“I mean, that’s a vote in the - yeah, that’s a vote in the Knesset, but obviously I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now, and we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal,” Rubio told reporters.
Trump's comments on disarming Hamas
The Time reporter also asked the US president how he might go about disarming Hamas as per the recent ceasefire deal between "Israel" and Palestinian factions in Gaza.
Highlighting how the world had become against "Israel", Trump said, "Well, you have to go in. If they don't. I mean, they've agreed to do that, right?" Trump's comments began. "So—see, the world was tired of us attacking—I'll say us, you know, 'Israel' and us. We didn’t fight. They didn't like it ... I said to Bibi, 'Bibi, you can't fight the world. You can fight individual battles, but the world's against you. And Israel is a very small place compared to the world.'”
The US president continued, stating to the interviewer that he stopped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from continuing the bombardment of Gaza, stating that "he would have just kept going. It could have gone on for years. It would have gone on for years. And I stopped him, and everybody came together when I stopped, it was amazing."
Trump further added that the Israeli strike on Qatar was a "tactical mistake" but that it was the final nail in the coffin to bring the deal to fruition.
When asked by the Time reporter to speak about how he got Netanyahu to agree with halting operations in Gaza, Trump asked to go off the record.
Read more: Gaza officials report 47 Israeli breaches of ceasefire since Monday
Trump mulls Marwan Barghouti's freedom
The Time later asked the US president about the fate of Palestinian leader and prisoner Marwan Barghouti and whether his release may bring Palestinians together.
"Marwan Barghouti is seen by many as the one figure who could unite Palestinians behind a two-state solution," the interviewer stated, adding, "He tops most polls amongst Palestinians for whom they would vote for in a presidential election. But he's in prison, and Israel has refused to let him out ... Do you think Israel should release him from prison?"
Trump told the reporter that he was asked about Barghouti prior to the interview, stating, "I am literally being confronted with that question about 15 minutes before you called. That was the question. That was my question of the day. So I'll be making a decision."
Hopes of Saudi-'Israel' normalization
Time asked Trump about how close Saudi Arabia and "Israel" are to agreeing to normalize relations with one another and what else would be needed for it to happen.
"I think we're very close. I think Saudi Arabia is going to lead the way. I have great respect and like for the king, as you know, we have a great relationship, and I think Saudi Arabia will lead the way toward the Abraham Accords," Trump stated. "So the Abraham Accords—Biden did nothing with them except make them more difficult. And you know what? The amazing thing, we kept the four members, because they're doing great in the Abraham Accords, so nobody left. But instead of four members, within six months, we would have had everybody signed up."
The US head of state claimed that the situation for normalization is easier, and existing members agreed to the deal despite an "Iran threat", which he now claims is behind them.
"I think that the Abraham Accords are going to start filling up very quickly," Trump said, adding that he believes that Riyadh will join the normalization pact by the end of the year.
Saudi officials, however, stated in late September that normalization with "Israel" will not happen without a Palestinian state.
"There cannot be a process of normalization between the kingdom [Saudi Arabia] and Israel without a Palestinian state," Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud previously told reporters.
