Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Does Trump Give Israel License to Annex West Bank? A Majority of Israelis Say No.

As Israeli leaders are sounding the drumbeat for West Bank annexation, a majority of Israelis say “not so fast,” according to a new poll.

The Israel Democracy Institute’s Peace Index found that 53% of Israeli Jews are against annexing large parts of the West Bank, with only 37% in favor.

Since President Trump took office, Israeli leaders like Jewish Home party chief Naftali Bennett have been driving hard for Israel to make certain settlements in the territory Israel captured and has occupied since 1967 an official part of Israel.

So far, Trump has proven sympathetic to Israel’s expansionist wing. In declaring settlements no obstacle to peace, his administration has broken with decades of U.S. foreign policy.

On the question of annexation, Jewish Israelis polled were divided about what should happen to Palestinians in the West Bank should Israel annex the territory. Just under a quarter of them said that Palestinians should be given Israeli citizenship; 30% said that they should be granted residency, presumably like their East Jerusalem brethren who have certain rights but can’t vote for the parliament.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.