At least two advisers in Donald Trump’s previous administration have warned senior Israeli ministers not to take for granted that the president-elect will support Israel’s annexation of the West Bank during his second term, three sources familiar with the talks told The Times of Israel.

Although the message was delivered in separate meetings and talks held in the months leading up to Trump’s presidential election victory, far-right cabinet members did not appear deterred. On Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that 2025 will be “the year of rule in Judea and Samaria [τη Δυτική Όχθη],” thanks to Trump’s return to power, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir last week commented that “this is a time for sovereignty.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel’s next ambassador to the US will be Yehiel Leiter, a former settler leader who has supported the annexation of large parts of the West Bank and opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In recent meetings with several senior Israeli ministers, Trump’s former advisers did not rule out the possibility that the new president would eventually support the move, but argued that it should not be treated as a “foregone conclusion,” an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The side effects of annexation for Trump

The controversial move will face strong opposition from U.S. Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which Trump could lean on to address more pressing foreign policy goals such as countering Iranian aggression, competing against China and ending the war in Ukraine, according to a second Israeli official with knowledge of one of the conversations a former Trump aide had with a cabinet minister.

“Yes” to annexation, but at a price for Israel

Although Trump presented a peace plan in 2020 that envisioned Israel annexing all of its settlements, the proposal also allowed for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the rest of the West Bank.