Trump Pledge Blocks “Israel” Annexation — A Win for Palestinian Rights, Says Critics

By Staff, Agencies

In a new interview published Thursday, US President Donald Trump vowed to stop a move by the Knesset to extend “Israeli” sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank — a promise that many Palestinians and their supporters hailed as a necessary check on further dispossession.

The pledge came a day after the Knesset approved a preliminary vote aimed at applying “Israeli” law in occupied West Bank areas. “It won’t happen. It won’t happen,” Trump told TIME, stressing he had given his word to Arab states and warning that such a step would cost “Israel” crucial regional and US support.

Trump framed his intervention as part of broader pressure that helped halt a deeper escalation in Gaza and the occupied territories. He said he told “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he could not “fight the world,” arguing that continued expansion would have isolated “Israel” even further.

The president also claimed his actions helped bring Arab governments to cooperate on the Gaza ceasefire and regional diplomacy. Trump said he had urged restraint after a contentious “Israeli” action related to Qatar that, he said, paradoxically pushed other countries to come together to end bloodshed.

According to Trump, “I stopped him, because 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. And when he made that one tactical mistake, the one on Qatar, and that was terrible, but actually, and I actually told the emir, this was one of the things that brought us all together, because it was so out of joint that it sort of got everybody to do what they have to do.”

On other issues, Trump said he planned to visit the besieged Gaza Strip and described a new “Board of Peace” he is to chair — a body he portrayed as having real influence over reconstruction and political steps in the region. He insisted the initiative aims to hold all parties accountable, including Hamas, while critics note that any lasting solution must center Palestinian sovereignty and rights.

Palestinian advocates reacted cautiously but positively to Trump’s public opposition to annexation, viewing it as a rare alignment with the long-standing international consensus that annexing occupied land is illegal and would further entrench dispossession. Many demanded that promises be followed by concrete steps: immediate lifting of sieges, unfettered humanitarian access, release of prisoners, and genuine measures toward Palestinian self-determination.

For Palestinians and their allies, the key test remains whether words will translate into pressure that protects Palestinian lives, ends occupation and delivers justice — not merely temporary diplomatic optics.