Trump Says He’s Not 100 Percent Aligned With Netanyahu on West Bank

President Donald Trump said on Dec. 29 that he’s not 100 percent in agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on how to handle tensions in the West Bank.

During his press conference alongside Netanyahu following their bilateral meeting on Monday, Trump was asked by reporters whether he was “concerned that Israeli settler violence” could undermine his 20-point peace plan in Gaza.

“Well, 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 percent,” Trump said.

“But we’ll come to a conclusion on the West Bank.”

When asked to expand on what that conclusion would be, he declined to provide further details.

“It’ll be announced at an appropriate time,” Trump said.

“But he will do the right thing,” Trump said of Netanyahu, who was standing next to him. “I know that. I know him very well. He will do the right thing.”

On Dec. 21, Israel’s coalition government finalized the legalization of another 19 previously unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank. The move is a further break from the 2005 policy of “disengagement” in the West Bank that was reversed in a vote by Israel’s unicameral parliament, the Knesset, in March 2023.

According to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the current government under Netanyahu has approved 69 settlement outposts over the past three years.

Smotrich said the settlements were correcting a historic “injustice” for those striving for a Zionist cause and a step to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement on Dec. 23 saying the additional settlement approvals were a “dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial control over the entirety of Palestinian land.”

Trump has previously said that he opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” Trump said at the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September.

“No, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.”

On Monday, Trump also downplayed concerns about a potential confrontation between Israel and Turkey.

“They’re not going to have a problem,” Trump said.

“We know him very well, and you’ve seen me do things with President Erdogan and Turkey that nobody else could have done. We’re not going to have a problem. He’s done a fantastic job,” Trump added, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“And don’t forget, it was President Erdogan that helped very much get rid of a very bad ruler of Syria. That was President Erdogan. And he never wanted the credit for it. But he really gets a lot of credit. Bibi agrees with that.”

Bill Pan contributed to this report.