Despite warnings from Donald Trump, the push for Israeli control over the West Bank continues

Standing beneath the imposing stone walls of one of the most ancient and revered sites in the West Bank, Yishai Fleischer was blunt in his assessment of its significance in modern times. 

"It's something that should be bringing people together, but oftentimes places like this actually make people jealous and tear them apart," he said.

Mr Fleischer wanted to meet the ABC at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the city of Hebron, south of Jerusalem.

The site is said to be the burial place of the prophet Abraham, a significant figure in Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and is considered one of the holiest places in all three religions.

Control of the building has been wrested between conquering forces for centuries and the structure today, which sits over the cave where Abraham and his family are buried, is half synagogue and half mosque.

Mr Fleischer's description of the place was a simple summation of a problem dogging this part of the world, but belies the severity of the situation facing the West Bank as his fellow Israeli settlers demand control over areas where millions of Palestinians live.

"It's a Jewish building on top of Jewish tombs, and the Jewish people have been living at this town and praying here at this tomb for the last 3,500 years," he argued.

"For the Jewish people to survive in this region, we have to be strong in terms of our identity, in terms of our economy, in terms of our military, in terms of our spirituality.

"Haters will have to go … we have to be strong here and push back in forces that want to destroy us."

It is a view that permeates the settler movement, and some other corners of the Israeli society — that all the land west of the Jordan River is Jewish land, and any action to restore control is a God-given right.

That belief has spurred some within Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, often referred to as the most right-wing government in Israel's history, to push for legislation formally annexing the West Bank.

Despite his backing of Israel on a range of other matters, that has been a step too far for the US President Donald Trump, who in September told journalists: "I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank."

But many believe it is something of an academic argument — that annexation has already happened as a result of Israel's vice-like control of the West Bank and its government's support for Jewish settlers.

Earlier this week, Israel approved 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank — including re-establishing two settlements that were dismantled two decades ago.

Settlements are considered illegal under international law, but many figures in the Israeli government and settler movement see the territory as their land.

"The Jewish people are resettling this land, this is the heartland of our story, this is the DNA of our people-hood," Mr Fleischer said.

"We're connected to this thing inextricably; we're not going to be connected this way to Brooklyn or to Sydney or Melbourne. It's not the same."

Palestinians live in fear

On a hill overlooking the Tomb, anti-settlement activist Issa Amro's house is encased in tall fencing, which he argued was necessary to protect him from settler attacks — everything from rock throwing to fire bombings.

"My neighbourhood is caged, my city is caged and my country is caged."

When the ABC tried to approach Mr Amro's house, an Israeli soldier blocked the path — insisting foreigners could not pass through an Israeli-dominated area en route to the Palestinian community he lived in.

The 45-year-old said he had never felt free in the West Bank, labelling Israel's control of the territory as "apartheid".

But he said the situation had deteriorated significantly since October 7, 2023.

"[Israeli soldiers] got all the support to do whatever they can, because they can do it without any accountability, without anybody saying this is wrong or this is bad," Mr Amro said.

He said he had been attacked multiple times by settlers and soldiers, and that Israeli authorities turned a blind eye to the conduct.

"If you have protection and support and finance coming from the Israeli government to the fanatic and extreme Israeli soldiers and settlers, it means it's a state terror," he said.

"The Israeli government now is acting outside the Israeli law and even the international law, and for sure they are acting outside the Jewish principles and morals."

Annexation underway

Moves to impose Israeli sovereignty on the West Bank have been underway for decades, but the issue has taken on a different tone and tempo in recent months.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both subject to sanctions by countries including Australia for their violent rhetoric towards Palestinians, have led the charge.

Mr Fleischer said Australia's sanctions against those ministers amounted to "misunderstanding and antisemitism".

"To have Australia getting in our business without clearly understanding, and eroding our sovereignty by sanctioning our people … is an abhorrent act of sabotage," Mr Fleischer argued.

The proposal to approve 19 new settlements was introduced to Israeli cabinet by the pair. When announcing it on social media, Mr Smortrich said it was "correct and moral Zionism".

"Within three years we have regulated 69 new settlements — a record like no other," he wrote.

Mr Smotrich's portfolios give him responsibility for approving and expanding settlements, something he has done with considerable vigour since taking office.

Israeli media has reported Mr Smotrich is pushing for hundreds of millions of shekels to be spent on settlements and outposts, as part of the Israeli government's upcoming budget.

In October the Isareli parliament, the Knesset, gave preliminary approval to a bill that would effectively annex the West Bank — just as the US Vice-President JD Vance was wrapping up his visit to Israel.

"If it was a political stunt it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it," Mr Vance said when asked about the vote.

"The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel, the policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel."

Mr Trump also in October told Time Magazine: "Israel would lose all of its support from the US if that happened."

Mr Netanyahu's Likud party did not back the legislation and criticised those who pushed for the vote.

Although almost two months later, the prime minister said annexation remained "a subject of discussion" during a press conference alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had just warned Israel against any measures to annex the West Bank.

"There is no change of the status quo. Israel today controls the security between the Jordan River and the sea," Mr Netanyahu said.

"[Annexation] is not something that I think we're headed in the coming time, it'll be a question that will be raised eventually, but not right away."

Issa Amro said the Trump intervention meant very little to people living in the West Bank.

"The Israeli government would not be able to maintain the occupation for that long without applied support of many, many Western countries," he said.

"One of the main countries which is blindly supporting the Israeli government … it's the American administration.

Michael Sfard, one of Israel's leading human rights lawyers, said the intervention by the Trump administration was important — but argued it only went so far.

"It has to be acknowledged and it has to be confronted that Israel … has annexed the territory and is treating it as its sovereign territory," he told the ABC.

"We're building settlements there, we are moving communities from one place to another, we're digging out natural resources, we're exploiting the territory, and we're planning it for a very long term.

"This is not an ordinary occupation — an occupation has to be temporary, and the occupier is not to change the occupied territory at all, as much as possible.

"We're doing the opposite, we're perpetuating our domination in the West Bank, and in the last two years, we've done that in a way that, for me, this is annexation, even if it hasn't been declared."

Attacks on the rise

Across the West Bank, there are roughly half a million Jewish settlers living in around 140 settlements and up to 300 outposts, a type of settlement that is unauthorised by the Israeli government but often receives retroactive approval.

That figure increases to around 700,000 when including East Jerusalem — which most countries, including Australia, do not recognise as sovereign Israeli territory after Israel seized it in 1967. It remains on the opposite side of Israel's border wall from the rest of the Palestinian territory.

While the settlements are considered unlawful under international law, they are supported by Israeli legislation, including instances where communities have been retroactively legalised years after being built on Palestinian land.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) exercises control over some parts of the West Bank, including cities such as Ramallah and Nablus, but Israeli security forces maintain a significant presence right across the territory.

All entry and exit points into the West Bank are operated by Israel — including the international land border with Jordan, where the Allenby Bridge crossing provides the only transit option to Palestinians without permits to enter Israel.

Israeli authorities have permanently or temporarily restricted access to some parts of the West Bank, through major operations such as counterterrorism raids in refugee camps, as well as more routine measures such as closing roads and building checkpoints to stifle free movement.

Violence by settlers towards Palestinians has also surged in recent months. In October, the United Nations recorded the highest number of cases since it began keeping records in 2006, with 264 attacks.

Yishai Fleischer, armed with a rifle during his interview with the ABC, downplayed the settler violence. Instead, he blamed Palestinians for fuelling conflict across the West Bank.

"As in all societies, we have members of the society that are more aggressive and maybe take it to illegal actions," he said.

"If there's illegal action being done, they'll be taken care of."

He said Australia did not understand the severity of the situation, and said that opposing settlements was tantamount to "standing against Jewish survival".

Michael Sfard argued the intensity of Israeli actions in the West Bank is unlike anything he has seen in three decades.

"We have the most radical government Israel has ever had, with the settler movement basically a very powerful element of this government," he said.