Netanyahu meets settler leaders, pledges to raise West Bank sovereignty with Trump – report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly meets with West Bank settlement leaders on Sunday night ahead of his Monday meeting with US President Donald Trump, and says he will raise the issue of Israel applying sovereignty to the West Bank.

But he also reportedly acknowledges facing a “complicated reality,” signaling that Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank is unlikely.

Reports in Hebrew media say that the meeting in New York includes Israel Ganz, who heads the Yesha Council, and Yossi Dagan, who heads the Samaria Regional Council, among others.

Netanyahu’s allies to the right, including settlement leaders, have been pushing for Israel to apply its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, particularly as a reaction to the wave of Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state.

But Trump has ruled out Israeli West Bank annexation, and the UAE, which normalized relations with Israel five years ago, said the move would be a “red line.”

In the meeting, Netanyahu reportedly says Israel must “navigate a complicated reality.” He also compares Trump favorably to former US president Barack Obama, who vocally pressured Israel to freeze settlement construction.

“We have a supportive president,” Netanyahu reportedly says regarding Trump. “Remember the Obama era, when he told us not to lay even one brick.”

Earlier on Sunday, Ganz posted on X that he and other settlement leaders visited the New York City gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, to pray for the military’s success, the return of the hostages held in Gaza, and the application of Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.

He writes that the “clear message of settlement is — no to a Palestinian state, yes to applying sovereignty.”

יחד עם משלחת מועצת יש״ע פתחנו את הביקור בארה״ב בציון הרבי מלובביץ׳, להתפלל להצלחת חיילנו, לשיבת חטופינו, לחיזוק מדינת ישראל ולהחלת ריבונות ביו"ש. בימים הקרובים ננהל מרתון פגישות חשובות, בראשן פגישה עם רה"מ, להשמיע את המסר הברור של ההתיישבות – לא למדינה פלסטינית, כן להחלת ריבונות pic.twitter.com/IUnl73QutM

— ישראל גנץ – Israel Ganz (@israelganz) September 28, 2025