The White House is denying reports that the Trump administration has been openly discussing an Israeli plan to formally annex Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank. A spokesperson for the right-wing Likud party quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying in a closed-door session, “On the subject of applying sovereignty, I can say that I have been talking to the Americans about it for some time.” Israel’s West Bank settlements are illegal under international law, and any move to annex Palestinian territory would be a further violation of the Geneva Conventions. White House spokesperson Josh Raffel on Monday called any reports that the U.S. discussed annexation with Israel “false”—opening a rare public rift between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.