Trump brushes off efforts by some Israel lawmakers to annex West Bank

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (October 23, 2025) dismissed an effort by some Israeli lawmakers to annex the West Bank, saying Israel is “not going to do anything with the West Bank.”

A bill applying Israeli law to the West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of a territory that Palestinians seek for part of a future independent state, won preliminary approval from Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday (October 22).

“Don’t worry about the West Bank,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank.”