Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly set to gather top ministers and aides for a discussion on Thursday in which they will explore the possibility of applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
The meeting, according to Hebrew media reports, is to focus on the implications of international recognition of a Palestinian state, and how Jerusalem may respond to such a move. Applying sovereignty to parts of the territory, a step tantamount to annexation, is one of multiple steps the small forum is reportedly to weigh.
The meeting comes ahead of this month’s United Nations General Assembly, where a wave of Western nations intend to recognize a Palestinian state against Israeli and American wishes.
It also comes as Palestinian officials are seeking to reverse the United States’ decision last week to bar Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and some 80 other officials from the UN meeting — Washington’s own response to the intended recognitions.
Multiple Palestinian sources said this week that the PA, which governs day-to-day affairs in parts of the West Bank, is working through various channels to persuade the Americans to lift visa restrictions on Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials.
Abbas’s deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, recently wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing the restrictions and claiming they were instituted on a false premise, Axios reported on Tuesday. The US statement called on the PA to “repudiate” terrorism, including the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre that began the war in Gaza, and to end “international lawfare campaigns” and “efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”
Al-Sheikh wrote that Abbas had “categorically condemned violence and terrorism, including the attacks of October 7,” in June, according to Axios. He also wrote that the PA is “committed to peace” and establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state.
“The decision to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation — despite these clear commitments, reforms, and assurances — sends the wrong signal at a time when the entire region looks to the United States for leadership and fairness,” al-Sheikh wrote, according to Axios. “It risks silencing the Palestinian voice at the UN, precisely when constructive engagement is most needed to build momentum for peace.”
In addition, a senior Palestinian official close to Abbas told The Times of Israel that Arab states, including Gulf countries, are working to assist the PA on the issue.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, added that the US move is “complicating matters, and we do not want things to become more complicated.” He said the PA is asking the US to “proceed in accordance with international law and the agreement between the UN and the United States,” referring to Washington’s obligation under its UN host country agreement to allow leaders to travel to New York for the General Assembly.
“We are determined that the voice of the Palestinian people will be heard, and that the Palestinian president’s speech will be delivered at the UN by any means possible,” he said, adding that a remote address by Abbas is one of the options being considered.
A growing list of Western nations said they plan to announce their recognition of a Palestinian state at the General Assembly. Leaders who have announced the step say it keeps the door to a two-state solution open, and have described it as a response to Israeli policies and actions they oppose in the West Bank and Gaza.
Several have said recognition of Palestinian statehood needs to come alongside reforms to the Palestinian Authority and on the condition that Hamas not play a role in governing Palestinians. The latest country to announce that it would recognize a State of Palestine is Belgium, which announced its decision on Tuesday and said it would come alongside sanctions on Israel.
The United States and Israel oppose recognition of a state of Palestine, particularly in the wake of the October 7 attack. Israel has called the move a prize for terror, and earlier this year, the Knesset voted 71-13 in favor of a non-binding motion in support of applying sovereignty to the West Bank.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank, has advanced settlement construction plans, intending to make a Palestinian state unviable.
Smotrich will reportedly take part in the Thursday meeting, alongside Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir and Smotrich also support annexing the Gaza Strip to Israel and building settlements there.
Army Radio said on Monday morning that Smotrich and Ben Gvir pushed at a Sunday cabinet meeting for the full annexation of the West Bank. It said without sourcing that Israel believes it has “silent approval” from the Trump Administration for annexation limited to the Jordan Valley area.
In 2020, Netanyahu believed he had Trump’s backing to annex the Jordan Valley and West Bank settlement areas, but was told by Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner that this was not the case.