Washington: US President Donald Trump has declared that he will not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Speaking in the Oval Office ahead of Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly, Trump said, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank … It’s not going to happen.”

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Monday.

The US president also indicated progress on a potential Gaza agreement.

“We’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza, and maybe even peace,” Trump told reporters, adding that he had discussed the matter with Netanyahu and other Middle Eastern leaders.

Israel faces increasing international pressure to end its occupation of the West Bank and ongoing conflict in Gaza, as several Western countries formally recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Far-right Israeli factions see annexation as a way to counter this development.

Ultranationalists in Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly called for full annexation of the West Bank, part of the Palestinian territories.

The UK and Germany have warned Israel against such moves, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres described annexation as “morally, legally and politically intolerable.”

Speaking via video link to the UN General Assembly, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed readiness to cooperate with world leaders to implement a peace plan for Israel and Palestine, recently proposed by France.