Won’t Happen

While Prime Minister Netanyahu gives his speech to the United Nations (UN) US President Trump puts his foot down over Israel annexing Judea and Samaria as we’re told in an article from The Epoch Times:

President Donald Trump said on Sept. 25 that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,“ the president told reporters at the Oval Office.

He did this at the same time as the Israeli Prime Minister landed in New York City for his UN speech:

Trump made the remarks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York City to deliver an address at the United Nations General Assembly.

Is it possible that the reporters intended to try and overshadow Netanyahu’s speech? Regardless, Trump isn’t backing down:

When asked if he had spoken to Netanyahu about it, Trump replied, “Whether I spoke to him or not, I did, but I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank.”

Trump can’t have Israel even broaching the topic when he is trying to get his deal in place:

Trump said that he had also spoken with Middle East leaders about a potential cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli forces mounted an offensive following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“We’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza and maybe even peace,” the president told reporters.

The meeting involved leaders of Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which took place on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly on Sept. 24, according to the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He knows that the Arab nations and even some from Asia that met this week to consider his proposal aren’t going to take the annexation well. And he’s right. One nation gave a short overview of the goals:

The UAE government said the leaders discussed efforts to secure “a sustainable and lasting cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war, as well as the release of “all hostages and detainees.”

And the ongoing canard of a humanitarian crisis cropped up:

The meeting also addressed possible “decisive steps” their countries could take to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to the statement.

Arabs Are Against It

Of course the usual suspects aren’t in favor of the annexation of Judea and Samaria saying it is risky if peace in the region is the goal:

Speaking to reporters on Sept. 25, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who attended the meeting, said he believes the U.S. government understands “very well the risks and dangers of annexation in the West Bank.”

He states that is peace is the goal that has to be off the table:

“What I can say about the meeting with President Trump, which I think was a very important meeting, is that the Arab and Muslim countries made very clear to the president the danger of annexation of any type in the West Bank and the risks that it poses not just to the potential of peace in Gaza, but also to any sustainable peace at all,” he said.

At the time of this report the Israeli government didn’t respond, probably because they know that Netanyahu is going to present to the UN:

The Israeli government had not issued a response to Trump’s remarks as of publication time.

The area has been a topic of dispute for some time with both sides claiming it is theirs:

The West Bank has been under Israeli military control since 1967, when Israel captured the territory from Jordan during the Six-Day War. Israel maintains that it has the right to settle its citizens there. The Palestinian Authority regards the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem as part of its future state.

Going back to the UAE they consider annexation of Judea and Samaria as a deal breaker:

UAE diplomat Anwar Gargash said on Sept. 3 that annexation of the West Bank would be “a red line” for his nation, adding that a two-state solution is the only path to peace.

As we can see from a purely political perspective this is the hottest of hot potatoes for Trump who called the September 24th meeting and knows full well it has no chance of happening if Israel even talks about taking back the area. If he allowed it he would look foolish and impotent to these world leaders who look to the United States as the enforcer of the deal. So I totally get his public statements. But this is a corner he put himself in and it is a mess he has to deal with. Israel on the other hand has precious little room to breathe and is fighting for their own existence. If the Arab people living there were peaceful it could make sense, but they aren’t. And these Arab nations still haven’t even recognized that Israel is even a nation which should play a part in the negotiations. Trump for all his part has to know all this. From a purely Biblical standpoint all the land is Israel’s and God will not be mocked. And America will be judged for dividing the land as we read in Joel 3:2:

I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there will I deal with and execute judgment upon them for [their treatment of] My people and of My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and [because] they have divided My land. (AMPC)

It looks like that valley is going to be crowded. But the cursing could happen sooner than that if Genesis 12:3 kicks in which is has in the past:

  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and the entire world will be blessed because of you.”[a] (TLB)