BEIT EL, West Bank — As Donald Trump’s victory made clear in last week’s US elections, Jewish settlement in the West Bank According to a post on Instagram, defenders popped champagne bottles and danced to the Bee Gees at a winery in the heart of the occupied territory. The winery said it will release a special red edition bearing the president-elect’s name.

Settlement supporters believe they have plenty of reason to celebrate. Expansion of housing for Jews in the West Bank not only surpass previous records During Trump’s first term, however, his administration took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims. Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital and moving the US Embassy there and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

This time with Israel involved a multi-front war, Settlement advocates believe Trump’s history of fervent support could translate into their biggest goal: Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Critics say the move will destroy any remaining hopes for a Palestinian state. Some are even trying to resettle Gaza under the Trump administration.

“Hopefully, 2025 will be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Israeli Finance Minister and ardent advocate of settlers Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name in comments that sparked international uproar. He said he would have the government lobby the Trump administration on the idea.

Israel captured the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians want these regions to become the state they hope for in the future. In a move unrecognized by most of the international community, Israel annexed East Jerusalem and withdrew its settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, where it had been fighting, in 2005. war against Hamas.

Settlement expansion in the West Bank ballooned during Israel’s open-ended occupation; More than half a million Israelis live in approximately 130 settlements and dozens of unauthorized outposts. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority administers semi-autonomous areas of the West Bank that are home to the majority of the Palestinian population.

During his first term as president, Trump abandoned decades-long U.S. opposition to settlements. offered a Middle East plan would allow Israel to do this keep them all. His Israeli ambassador He was a staunch supporter of settlements and an opponent of Palestinian statehood.

But Trump has also taken steps to keep some settler supporters wary. The Middle East plan left room for a Palestinian state, although critics said it was an unrealistic vision. And brokered by Trump Normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries held the country back from annexing the West Bank.

Although he did not clearly state his policy regarding his second term, elects first administrationHe is strongly pro-Israel, including his ambassadors to Israel and the UN, suggesting he is unlikely to stand in the way of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government advancing settlement building.

Trump’s vice president, Mike Huckabee, said: “There has never been an American president who has been more helpful in understanding Israel’s sovereignty.” Israeli ambassador candidateAsked about the possibility of West Bank annexation, he told Israeli Army Radio: “I certainly expect this to continue.”

A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to say whether the Israeli leader would pursue annexation during Trump’s presidency. But Netanyahu appointed American-born, hard-line settlement activist Yechiel Leiter as ambassador to Washington.

rights groups They already claim that Israel practices apartheid in the West Bank and that annexation would subject Israel to similar accusations if it does not grant equal rights to Palestinians there. Israel opposes granting citizenship to Palestinians in the West Bank, arguing that this would destroy Israel’s Jewish character.

Regardless of whether annexation comes, settler advocates foresee unfettered expansion under a Trump administration and an Israeli government with settler leaders and supporters in key positions. They see a presidency in which they can further consolidate their presence in the West Bank with the proliferation of housing, roads and industrial zones.

“I’m sure things will be much easier with President Trump because he supports the state of Israel,” said Israel Ganz, president of the settler lobby group Yesha Council.

Israeli settlement expansion continued to varying degrees under many American administrations. During Trump’s term, Israel sold nearly 33,000 homes, nearly three times as many as during President Barack Obama’s second term, according to the anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now.