Israel West Bank takeover is US red line, says Macron

Any attempt by Israel to annex parts of the West Bank would be a red line for the US - and would represent the end of Arab-Israeli diplomatic normalisation, Emmanuel Macron said yesterday, claiming he had been given that assurance by Donald Trump.

- Patrick Wintour

Macron also said he had presented the US leader with a three-page plan on the future of Palestine, based on the New York declaration, the document endorsed by 143 countries that proposes to exclude Hamas from future rule in Gaza and the West Bank.

Speaking on France 24, the French president said the aim of his meeting with Trump on Tuesday had been to get the US, Europe and the Arab states on the same page.

Asked about Israeli plans to extend settlement in the West Bank, including the so-called E1 corridor, which would involve the construction of 3,400 homes, he said: “On that topic in very clear terms the Europeans and the Americans are on the same page.”