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 The issue was slated for a ministerial discussion on Thursday but has been replaced by a session focused on the mounting security challenges in the area.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 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.
In an emotionally charged appeal, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Jews worldwide not to surrender to hatred after at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in what officials and Jewish leaders described as one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks against Jews abroad in years.
The U.S. military carried out massive air and drone strikes against more than 70 Islamic State (ISIS) targets across central and eastern Syria, U.S. officials said, following a deadly December 13 attack on American personnel.
The president of war-torn Ukraine says the United States has proposed a format for peace talks that would place Ukraine and Russia at the same table — but he doubts such a meeting would bring real progress.
Budget watchdogs are sounding the alarm as the U.S. hit an unfortunate fiscal milestone in fiscal year 2025: government spending on debt interest payments alone topped $1 trillion this year.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ action to bar “sex-rejecting” transgender procedures for minors has met with approval from groups that aim to protect children from harmful ideology, with some calling the move “long overdue,” stating that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for procedures that lack proven benefits.
After hours of tense negotiations, European Union leaders agreed to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro loan (about $100 billion) to meet the wartorn nation’s urgent financial needs. However, they failed to reach a consensus on whether the loan should be secured using Russia’s frozen assets held in Europe.