Overview

• UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh said any Israeli application of sovereignty in the occupied West Bank is a red line that would severely undermine the Abraham Accords and called on Israel to suspend the plans.
• Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled maps and argued for annexing most of the West Bank while excluding major Palestinian population centers, describing a goal of maximum territory with minimum Palestinian population.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet senior ministers to consider annexation options as a possible response to expected Western recognition of Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly this month.
• Abu Dhabi has privately warned the White House that annexation could unravel normalization, with Israeli officials saying the Trump administration’s stance is unsettled and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signaled he does not oppose the move, a claim other U.S. officials dispute.
• Recent steps such as advancing the E1 settlement plan and a 2024 ICJ advisory opinion deeming aspects of the occupation illegal frame the legal and diplomatic risks, while multiple Western countries including France, the U.K., Canada and Australia plan to recognize Palestine this month.