The West Bank: Could It Be Trump's ‘Gift’ to ‘Israel’ to End Wars?

Since Donald Trump’s election victory, Israeli media outlets and research centers have been fostering an atmosphere of optimism, suggesting that the “happy endings” for the Zionist project may be near.

Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, which includes contributions from military, political, and academic experts, described Trump’s arrival as a “historic opportunity for strategic change,” a chance to “achieve all the goals of war,” and even “annex the West Bank,” in a series of analyses.

Following Trump’s win, Israeli Occupation leaders reignited discussions about annexing the West Bank, raising numerous questions about the feasibility, implications, and future of such a plan.

Deeper concerns emerged: Do Israeli leaders understand that annexing the West Bank—if it were to happen—could tip the demographic balance in favor of a Palestinian majority within the so-called “State of Israel”?

Still, what would happen to the Palestinian Authority, which has, through security coordination, helped suppress resistance on their behalf? Would it be dismissed, leaving the Israeli Occupation to rule the West Bank directly with military force?

The prospect of annexation also raises questions about its impact on ongoing wars. Could such a move be Trump’s “gift” to “Israel” in exchange for ending the war on Gaza and Lebanon?

The West Bank as a ‘Gift’

Hebrew newspapers interpreted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to prolong the Gaza war and expand it to the southern Lebanese front as a strategy to await Trump’s victory and negotiate deals. These could include annexing the West Bank under the so-called “sovereignty plan” in return for halting “hostilities.”

Trump’s victory seems to have opened the door to a “gift exchange” between him and Netanyahu, with the latter offering a ceasefire that allows Trump to fulfill his promise of ending wars in the Middle East and focusing on trade deals and normalization efforts.

In return, Trump could grant Netanyahu the West Bank, recognizing “Israel’s sovereignty over it,” much like he did during his first term when he recognized the occupied Jerusalem and Syrian Golan Heights as part of the Israeli Occupation.

In his first year as president, Trump declared Jerusalem as “Israel’s capital” on December 6, 2017. Later, on September 10, 2018, he shut down the PLO office in Washington, cut $200 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, and in March 2019, signed an executive order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

Now, after his re-election, concerns are growing that Trump might also hand over the West Bank to “Israel,” officially ending the 1993 Oslo Accords, which Netanyahu’s government has already undermined.

Settlement supporters believe they have many reasons to celebrate. “Not only did the expansion of housing for Jews in the West Bank soar past previous records during Trump’s first term, but his administration took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there, and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights,” Tia Goldenberg of The Associated Press wrote on November 14, 2024.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly told Trump and his first-term advisor Jared Kushner that “Israel” aims to accelerate efforts to reach a ceasefire with Lebanon, with the aim of delivering an early foreign policy win to the president-elect, as per The Washington Post.

“There is an understanding that Israel would gift something to Trump [..] that in January there will be an understanding about Lebanon,” an Israeli official told The Post on the condition of anonymity.

The American newspaper also noted that Trump expressed his desire to end wars in the Middle East, with Netanyahu highlighting the “great peace opportunities” with the newly elected president.

Days before the American election results, former U.S. president Donald Trump has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants “Israel” to wrap up the war in Gaza by the time he returns to office if he wins the election, two sources familiar with the matter revealed to The Times of Israel this week.

Trump conveyed this message to Netanyahu during a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in July 2024, a former U.S. official and an Israeli source confirmed. Trump publicly stated that he had urged Netanyahu to secure a swift “victory” in Gaza before his inauguration, the sources told the Hebrew newspaper.

However, senior Israeli officials expressed concerns to The Times of Israel over Trump’s repeated calls to quickly end the Gaza war, fearing potential clashes if the demands remain unmet once Trump assumes office in January 2025.

In an October 2024 book, David Friedman, Trump’s Jewish advisor and former U.S. ambassador to “Israel,” claimed that America has a “Biblical duty” to support “Israel’s annexation” of the West Bank.

Friedman published a five-point plan online, asserting that the Israeli Occupation should exert sovereignty over the entire West Bank before creating Palestinian enclaves with maximum autonomy under full Israeli security control.

West Bank settlers are hopeful Trump’s return will pave the way for expanding major settlements in the region.

Settlement supporters believe Trump’s enthusiastic backing of “Israel” during his first term could translate into their ultimate goal: annexing the West Bank, “a move that critics say would smother any remaining hopes for Palestinian statehood. Some are even gunning for resettling Gaza under a Trump administration,” said Tia Goldenberg of AP.

This optimism is fueled by the unprecedented expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank during Trump’s first term, which shattered previous records.

During his presidency, Trump abandoned decades of U.S. opposition to settlements and proposed the so-called “Deal of the Century,” a peace plan aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause and stripping Palestinians of their rights and land.

Trump’s ambassador to “Israel” was also a staunch supporter of settlements and an opponent of a Palestinian state.

In that period, “Israel” constructed nearly 33,000 housing units in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, a group monitoring and opposing settlement activity in “Israel.” This figure is nearly triple the number built during President Barack Obama’s second term.

Turning Annexation Into Reality

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially announced plans to reintroduce the annexation of the occupied West Bank into his government’s agenda, set to advance once Donald Trump assumes office in January 2025. This move, reinforced by his finance minister’s commitment to impose “sovereignty” over the territory, signals a shift toward making annexation a reality.

During Trump’s first term, the idea of annexing the West Bank was seriously considered, with plans ready for implementation. However, Trump’s loss in the 2020 election delayed the process. 

“God willing, the year 2025 will be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Israeli Finance Minister and settlement firebrand Bezalel Smotrich said Monday, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name, in comments that sparked international uproar. He said he would make sure the government lobbies the Trump administration on the idea, according to Goldenberg’s report.

On November 12, 2024, Netanyahu reiterated to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation that annexation must return to the government’s agenda once Trump enters the White House. Preparations for annexation, part of Trump’s “Deal of the Century” plan, were reportedly completed in 2020.

The groundwork for annexation, including maps, regulations, and detailed government orders, had been developed by former Justice Minister Yariv Levin in collaboration with senior U.S. officials. This comprehensive plan even outlined a framework for governing the annexed territory and expanding settlements, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Interestingly, settlers themselves had opposed the “Deal of the Century” during Trump’s first term. While it included plans for Israeli sovereignty over settlements, they feared it might lead to implicit recognition of a Palestinian state. Trump’s vision for the Middle East left minimal space for such a state, which settlers categorically rejected.

In her report on the Associated Press, Tia Goldenberg described Trump’s plan at the time as “unrealistic,” noting it was eventually shelved in favor of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between “Israel” and several Arab nations.

The latest annexation plan, termed “Unifying Israel’s Lands,” includes incorporating 180 settlements and 200 outposts in the West Bank, home to half a million settlers, into “Israel’s territory.” This would effectively seize more than 60% of the West Bank’s land.

The plan also covers 27 settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, housing a quarter of a million settlers, while legalizing unauthorized outposts and establishing new settlements, according to Hebrew reports.

The Demographic Bomb

One of the Israeli Occupation’s most significant concerns regarding the annexation of the West Bank is the potential damage to its so-called “sovereignty.” Integrating millions of Palestinians into the Israeli state would challenge the concept of a singular “Jewish state,” as Palestinians could become the majority population.

Annexation would also burden “Israel” economically, militarily, and politically, as it would assume responsibility for millions of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Despite decades of Palestinian resistance against the “Zionist cancer” spreading since 1948, demographic trends have emerged as a decisive factor threatening “Israel’s existence.” This so-called “demographic bomb” refers to the natural decline in the Israeli Occupation’s Jewish population due to low birth rates, declining Jewish immigration, and the increasing trend of reverse migration, with Israelis leaving for Europe amid deteriorating security and fading dreams of “Israel” as a “land flowing with milk and honey.”

Each time annexation is discussed, Israeli officials voice concerns about this demographic shift. They fear that higher Palestinian birth rates compared to Jewish ones could lead to Palestinians dominating Israeli institutions.

On March 28, 2018, Yedioth Ahronoth highlighted rising concerns after statistics showed parity between the Palestinian and Jewish populations in historic Palestine. By 2023, with 7.1 million Jews compared to 7 million Palestinians, fears of Palestinian numerical dominance eased slightly.

As of November 7, 2024, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates there are 14.8 million Palestinians globally, half of whom live outside Palestine. Within the Israeli-occupied territories, 5.61 million Palestinians reside in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, alongside 1.8 million within the 1948 lands (“Israel”) totaling 7.4 million.

This is in addition to the 7.4 million Palestinians in the diaspora, including 6.3 million residing in Arab countries.

In contrast, Israel Central Bureau of Statistics reported on September 27, 2024, that the Israeli Occupation’s population is approximately 9.9 million, including 7.6 million Jews (77%), 2.067 million Arabs (20.8%), and 216,000 foreign residents (2.2%).

These figures, showing the narrowing gap between Palestinians (7.4 million) and Jews (7.6 million), have reignited fears of a demographic imbalance, particularly amid rising Jewish emigration following Operation al-Aqsa Flood.

Israeli demographic experts predict that Palestinians will outnumber Jews across all occupied territories by 2025, intensifying anxieties about the long-term viability of “a Jewish-majority state.”

Palestinian Authority Future

Another challenge to Israeli Occupation annexation plans is the future of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was established under the Oslo Accords.

Under Mahmoud Abbas, the PA has largely become a security tool for “Israel,” suppressing resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. However, its existence is tied to the concept of a Palestinian state.

The Oslo Accords divided the West Bank into three zones: Area A, representing 21% of the territory, is under full Palestinian control. Area B, comprising 18%, is under Palestinian civil authority but Israeli security control. Area C, covering around 60%, is entirely under Israeli administrative and security control.

Now, 31 years after its signing, the Oslo framework is largely defunct, with its primary legacy being security cooperation.

Despite this, “Israel” continues to undermine the PA, attacking its legitimacy and withholding tax revenues to weaken its financial capacity.

Israeli leaders are divided over the PA's future. One faction advocates for its complete dismantlement, annexing the entire West Bank, expelling PA personnel, and formally ending the two-state solution, reverting to military governance akin to the post-1967 period.

The other faction sees value in maintaining the PA’s current role as Israeli Occupation’s “security enforcer” in the West Bank. This group sees the PA as a façade that deflects global criticism of “Israel” and preserves the illusion of a representative body for the Palestinian state, now a UN member.

On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice emphasized the Palestinian right to self-determination and called for the removal of Israeli settlements in occupied territories.

During a session in The Hague, the court affirmed that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a single territorial unit that must be protected and respected. It also stated that the Israeli policies amount to de facto annexation of significant portions of Palestinian land, rejecting the extension of Israeli law to the West Bank and East Jerusalem as unjustifiable.