Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Yesha Council to discuss West Bank annexation ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Trump, the council announced on Sunday evening.
The Yesha Council delegation reportedly hoped to meet with Netanyahu ahead of the prime minister’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump to discuss the possible annexation of the West Bank.
A source present at the meeting told Walla, "Netanyahu told them that this is not the right time to apply sovereignty. You remember the Obama era; we now have a sympathetic president, and we have to navigate a very complex reality."
Trump disapproved of annexation
On Thursday, Trump expressed disapproval of annexation, telling reporters at the White House that he is “not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank.”
Trump’s denouncing of the annexation came as a surprise to Yesha Council members, prompting the emergency visit to New York.
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, the Director General of the council, Omer Rahamim, commented on Trump’s remarks, stating that council members were “surprised by his comments, since they were different from what we had heard both publicly and privately.”
Many world leaders, including officials from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, have strongly warned against annexing the West Bank, as it may undermine previous peace agreements, such as the Abraham Accords.
Following a United Nations resolution to recognize a Palestinian state, numerous right-wing Israeli ministers and officials urged Netanyahu to annex the West Bank.
The Yesha Council is a group of prominent leaders who advocate for expanding Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the annexation of the West Bank.
Amichai Stein contributed to this article