A White House official on Monday reaffirmed Donald Trump’s opposition to Israel annexing parts of the West Bank. Israel announced new rules on Sunday allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly. These changes also increase Israeli control over areas currently run by the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli security cabinet approved these plans, but the start date remains unclear. More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, considered illegal internationally. About three million Palestinians live in the same area. The UK strongly condemned the move, calling it "wholly unacceptable" and urging Israel to reverse its decision immediately. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Trump in the US on Wednesday. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed being "gravely concerned," warning the changes damage the chances for a two-state solution. Guterres also called Israel’s actions "destabilising" and referenced an international court ruling that Israel’s occupation is illegal. Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said the changes aim to "deepen our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and bury the idea of a Palestinian state." Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey, issued a joint condemnation of the decisions, calling them illegal. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz and Smotrich explained the cabinet’s decisions, which include repealing a Jordan-era law making West Bank land records public, and removing a permit requirement for land purchases by Jews. The reforms also transfer building approval for settlements in Hebron from the Palestinian Authority to Israel, increasing Israeli control over major religious sites like Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs. The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah accused Israel of trying to "deepen attempts to annex the occupied West Bank." These developments fuel fears of further conflict amid the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian dispute.