Netanyahu, Settlers Advance West Bank Seizure Pre-Trump Talks

By Staff, Agencies

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with West Bank settler leaders in New York on Sunday evening, ahead of his scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump. 

According to "Israeli" media reports, Netanyahu told the delegation that he intended to raise the issue of “Israel" annexing the West Bank during his talks at the White House.

At the same time, Netanyahu reportedly acknowledged the “complicated reality,” suggesting that any move toward annexation is unlikely in the immediate future. 

His remarks come as Netanyahu faces mounting pressure from settler leaders and far-right allies, whose calls for annexing occupied Palestinian land grow louder in response to recent Western recognition of a Palestinian state; a move he continues to resist publicly while enabling on the ground.

The meeting included senior settler figures such as Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council, and Yossi Dagan, who chairs the Samaria Regional Council. Both have been vocal advocates of annexation, framing it as the ultimate rejection of Palestinian statehood.

Meanwhile, Trump has publicly ruled out "Israeli" annexation of the West Bank, while the United Arab Emirates, a key regional partner that normalized ties with “Israel” five years ago, has warned that such a move would cross a “red line.”

In the meeting, Netanyahu contrasted Trump’s stance with that of former US President Barack Obama, who had pushed for a freeze on settlement expansion. 

“We have a supportive president,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “Remember the Obama era, when he told us not to lay even one brick.”

It is worth noting that Ganz recently posted on X that he and other settler leaders visited the late head of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Schneerson’s grave in New York to pray for 
"Israeli" sovereignty over the West Bank, declaring: “No to a Palestinian state, yes to applying sovereignty.”

This is happening amid heightening “Israeli” aggression in the occupied West Bank, as "Israel" is still launching raids across Palestinian towns and villages, detaining Palestinian youths with no formal charges, arbitrarily killing Palestinians, and demolishing homes.

Netanyahu is set to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday for their fourth encounter since Trump returned to power in January, more than with any other world leader. 

The meeting comes as the two prepare for potentially fraught talks over Gaza, with Trump pushing a 21-point Gaza plan and Netanyahu determined to pursue the total defeat of the Resistance in Gaza.