JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump has expressed opposition to Israel's move to annex the occupied West Bank.
In an interview with the US-based media, Axios, Trump was asked for his response to the latest steps approved by the Israeli security cabinet regarding the area.
Trump did not elaborate on the policy, but stressed, "I am against annexation."
"We already have enough things to think about right now. We don't need to deal with the West Bank," he said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Wednesday, February 11.
Israel's security cabinet on Sunday, February 8, decided to repeal a law that prohibits the sale of Palestinian land to Jewish citizens in the West Bank, unsealing land ownership records, and transferring the authority to issue building permits in the Hebron settlement bloc from the Palestinian city authorities to the Israeli civil administration.
The move also extends Israeli surveillance and law enforcement to areas classified as Area A and Area B, citing alleged violations related to unauthorized construction, water issues, and damage to archaeological and environmental sites.
In the past three years, the Israeli government has reviewed plans to build around 50,000 settlement units in the West Bank.
In addition, around 60,000 dunams of land, equivalent to 14,826 acres, have been confiscated by Israel since the start of the war with Hamas in October 2023.
The International Court of Justice in a landmark opinion in July 2024 said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The West Bank, based on the 1993 Oslo II Agreement, is divided into three administrative areas, namely areas A, B, and C. This division was originally intended as a temporary transition for the transfer of control to the Palestinian Authority, but in reality it remains permanent to this day.
Area A, covers about 18 percent of the West Bank (including Palestinian major cities), where the Palestinian Authority has full control over civil affairs and security.
Area B covers about 22 percent of the territory, where the Palestinian Authority holds civilian control, but security is under joint Palestinian-Israeli control.
Area C covers about 60 percent of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control for both security and civilian affairs (including settlements and infrastructure).
Israeli authorities continue to demolish Palestinian homes and buildings throughout the West Bank on the grounds of not having permits, amid policies that Palestinians consider very restrictive and difficult to obtain building permits.
According to the Commission for the Resistance to Colonization and the Wall, a Palestinian government agency, Israel carried out 538 demolitions throughout 2025, affecting around 1,400 houses and buildings.
The figure is an unprecedented increase compared to previous years.
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