U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested to reporters that Israel’s land mass was too small, but declined to say whether he’d support territorial annexations by the Jewish state.
Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Trump was asked: “You’ve mentioned in the past that you’re concerned about Israel being too small geographically. Do you support annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel?”
The president answered: “Well, I’m not going to talk about that. It’s certainly a small country in terms of land. You see this pen, this wonderful pen? My desk is the Middle East and the top of the pen is Israel.
President Trump: "It's amazing what Israel has been able to do with a lot of brainpower, but very little land area. I have no guarantees that the agreement will last. I've seen people go through brutal things. Nobody has seen anything like this." pic.twitter.com/pZIZQRKhNR
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) February 3, 2025
“That’s not good, it’s a pretty big difference. It’s a pretty small piece of land, and it’s amazing they’ve been able to do what they’ve been able to do. There’s a lot of good, smart brainpower. But it is a small piece of land, no question about it.”
The questions about Israel to Trump and his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, were in connection with this week’s visit to Washington D.C. by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose plane landed in the U.S. capital on Monday. He is expected to meet with Trump on Tuesday.
Prior to setting out for Washington, Netanyahu said it was “telling” that he is to be the first foreign leader to meet with the U.S. president since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
“I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship,” said Netanyahu.
“We’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: Victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components—an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world,” he added.
Asked by another reporter on Monday whether he believes the Israel-Hamas ceasefire will hold, Trump answered: “I have no assurances it will hold. I mean, I’ve seen people brutalized. I’ve never … Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. No, I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold.”
The reference may be tied to reports on Monday that Trump was to view footage from the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when the terrorist group murdered some 1,200 people and abducted another 251.
Many gunmen documented themselves perpetrating atrocities. Israel has compiled this footage and screened it to journalists and world leaders. Trump’s U.S. special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had an abbreviated version of the film prepared for the president, Ynet reported.
