Citing a US official and another source, Axios said it came during Monday’s meeting between Trump and Netanyahu along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the US state of Florida.
According to the report, the US official said the White House thinks a violent escalation in the West Bank would undermine efforts to implement the Gaza peace agreement and prevent the expansion of the Abraham Accords before the end of Trump’s term.
Trump and his team expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank and asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative steps and “calm things down,” the sources said, according to Axios.
They also raised the issues of settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the financial instability of the Palestinian Authority and Israeli settlements expansion, said the sources.
“Netanyahu spoke very strongly against settler violence and said he is going to take more action,” the source with knowledge was quoted as saying by Axios.
After meeting with Netanyahu, Trump told reporters Monday that the US and Israel do not agree “100%” on the West Bank but will ultimately reach a conclusion.
“We have had a discussion, big discussion, for a long time on the West Bank, and I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank 100%, but we’ll come to a conclusion,” he said when asked if he is concerned about Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and whether he had conveyed a message to Netanyahu regarding the occupied territory.
“It’ll be announced at an appropriate time, but he will do the right thing,” he said, referring to Netanyahu.
Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000 and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, Palestinian figures showed.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.