But supporting the annexation of the West Bank would be a much more serious and difficult problem for Trump.
That is likely to alienate Washington’s other key ally, Saudi Arabia, complicating Trump’s chances for a broader regional deal.
It could also alienate some moderate Republicans in the US Congress, concerned about the impact on West Bank Palestinians and their future status under Israeli rule.
Settler leader Sondra Barras told me that West Bank Palestinians who don’t want to live in Israel can “go anywhere.”
Asked why they had to leave their homeland, she said: “I’m not kicking them out, but things are changing. How many wars have they started? And they lost.”
“There would be a lot of yelling and screaming if sovereignty went ahead,” she continued. “But at some point you create a fact that is irreversible.”
Shortly after Trump’s election victory last November, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich publicly called for the annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“2025 should be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” he said.
