by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put on hold a controversial plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, after receiving sharp warnings from both regional allies and Western nations. The issue was slated for a ministerial discussion on Thursday but has been replaced by a session focused on the mounting security challenges in the area.
The Jerusalem Post reported that defense officials will caution ministers that the West Bank “could erupt instantly” as momentum builds at the United Nations for several Western countries to recognize a Palestinian state later this month.
UAE Raises Red Line Over Abraham Accords
The decision follows a stern warning from the United Arab Emirates to both Israel and President Trump that annexing the West Bank would threaten the Abraham Accords, signed nearly five years ago as a cornerstone of Israel’s normalization with Arab states. Emirati special envoy Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel that annexation would be a “red line” for Abu Dhabi, foreclosing peace efforts and “the idea of regional integration.”
Her message echoed a 2020 op-ed by UAE Ambassador Yousef Otaiba that helped derail Netanyahu’s earlier annexation drive in exchange for normalization. Nusseibeh stressed that Arab capitals remain open to normalization — including Saudi Arabia — but only if Israel abandons annexation and moves toward a credible framework for a Palestinian state.
Israeli Hardliners Push for Sovereignty
Despite the warnings, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and leaders from Judea and Samaria are urging Netanyahu to advance sovereignty over more than 80% of the biblical lands, leaving Palestinian areas as isolated enclaves. “Beyond the historical, biblical, and moral right of the Jewish people to their land, sovereignty has a paramount security role,” Smotrich argued, saying it would prevent an “Arab terror state” in Israel’s heartland.
His push comes as France, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Belgium announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN, moves Jerusalem views as a “reward” for Hamas after the October 7 attacks.
Trump, U.S. Diplomacy, and Hostage Crisis
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told CBN News that President Trump has not directly weighed in but reiterated Trump’s philosophy: “You’re a sovereign nation. You make your own decisions.” However, Emirati officials have appealed directly to Trump, urging him to safeguard the Abraham Accords — a hallmark of his foreign policy legacy — from being “derailed by extremists.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s war against Hamas continues. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said combat is intensifying to achieve the twin goals of freeing hostages and dismantling Hamas. President Trump added pressure on Hamas in a Truth Social post: “Tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages (Not 2 or 5 or 7!), and things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!”
Protests in Jerusalem demanding the release of hostages turned violent Wednesday, with demonstrators setting a car on fire near the Prime Minister’s Residence. Police reminded citizens that while demonstrations are legal, roadblocks, arson, and vandalism are not.
A Critical Crossroads
As the Abraham Accords mark their fifth anniversary, Israel faces a pivotal choice: expand sovereignty over biblical lands, risking ties with Arab partners and Western allies, or step back from annexation to preserve fragile regional integration. Emirati envoy Nusseibeh put it bluntly: “There is an outstretched hand, despite all of this misery, in the region to Israel. But annexation would withdraw that hand.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Trump administration has finalized a sweeping reciprocal trade agreement with Taiwan, confirming a 15 percent U.S. tariff rate on Taiwanese imports while securing broad new market access and purchase commitments for American goods.
Democrats are applauding White House border czar Tom Homan’s Thursday announcement that immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota will end next week.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate tanked the Homeland Security full-year funding bill in a last-ditch vote Thursday, all but guaranteeing a partial government shutdown starting Saturday.
Mourners in a remote Canadian town grappled Thursday with the aftermath of one of the country’s deadliest school shootings in decades, as families, survivors and leaders reacted to the tragedy that left eight victims — most of them children — dead, along with the 18-year-old suspect.
A gunman who opened fire at a school in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai city on Wednesday wounded a teacher and a student before being detained, authorities said, in a rare attack that sent students and staff into panic.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, advancing legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification at the polls. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain amid strong Democratic opposition.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its advanced David’s Sling air and missile defense system has completed a series of complex modernized tests, a development officials say bolsters the country’s defensive posture as tensions with Iran escalate and the United States prepares military options that could include direct strikes.