Amid talk from multiple Western nations about officially recognizing a Palestinian state, Israel has contemplated a response that involves the formal annexation of some or all of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, which is nominally controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

President Donald Trump, however, who is attempting to broker a lasting peace in the region, made it clear this week that he would not support or allow the Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory, according to CBN.

That oppositional stance, initially reported earlier this week and then confirmed publicly by Trump himself, sets the stage for a potentially contentious meeting on Monday at the White House between the U.S. president and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel contemplates annexation of historic lands

Axios reported last month that Israeli officials, in response to the growing talk from several Western nations about recognizing a Palestinian state, were discussing potential plans to annex some or all of the West Bank in retaliation for that recognition.

Multiple annexation plans of varying extent are under consideration, and the discussions were confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who told the outlet, "What the Europeans are planning to do started causing more and more people in Israel to say that maybe they should start talking of annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria."

Judea and Samaria, now known as the West Bank, were historically part of the Biblical Kingdom of Israel, and per CBN, approximately 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in those regions amongst the broader population of around 3.3 million Palestinians, and any effort to formally annex those areas would undoubtedly result in fierce condemnation and sanctions from Western nations and international bodies.

"I will not allow it"

On Thursday, according to CBN, President Trump spoke to reporters about his plans to achieve peace in the Middle East and end the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which was sparked by a wave of Hamas terror attacks, murders, and kidnappings in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

"And we're trying to get to the end of the Gaza situation. It's really bad, very bad," Trump said. "And we think it could happen. Maybe it could happen pretty soon. We want the hostages back. We want their bodies back. And we want to have peace in that region."

However, in pursuit of that goal, the president added, "I will -- I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It's not going to happen."

Peace plan presented

President Trump's remarks on Thursday appear to confirm a report from Politico one day earlier about his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly with several Arab and Muslim nations, in which he similarly vowed to them that he would not permit Israel to formally annex all or parts of the West Bank.

It was reportedly made clear in that meeting that any attempt by Israel to annex the West Bank would all but destroy any hope of a two-state solution, halt and degrade Israel's integration with its regional neighbors, and severely undermine the 2020 Abraham Accords, in which Trump brokered peace deals and normalized relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries.

During that meeting, per Politico, Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff also introduced a comprehensive peace plan for the region which, per Witkoff, "addresses Israeli concerns and as well, the concerns of all the neighbors in the in the region."

The details of Politico's anonymously sourced report, including Trump's vow to prevent Israel's annexation of some or all of the West Bank, was separately confirmed by the Times Of Israel.

The outlet noted that, according to its sources, Trump's peace plan was "welcomed" by the other participants in the meeting, as was his promise to oppose Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory, which will undoubtedly be a main topic of discussion during Trump's Monday meeting with Netanyahu.