The US ambassador has said Israel has the right to annex at least "some" of the occupied West Bank, in comments likely to deepen Palestinian opposition to a long-awaited US peace plan.
The Palestinians have rejected the plan before it has even been unveiled, citing a string of moves by US President Donald Trump that they say show his administration is irredeemably biased.
They are likely to see the latest comments by US ambassador to Israel David Friedman as new nail in the coffin of a peace process that is already on life support.
In the interview published by the New York Times on Saturday, Friedman said that some degree of annexation of the West Bank would be legitimate.
"Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank," he said.
Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat has said any such policy would be tantamount to "US complicity with Israeli colonial plans."
"We're relying upon the fact that the right plan, for the right time, will get the right reaction over time."
Friedman, a staunch supporter of the Israeli settlements, told the Times that the Trump plan was aimed at improving the quality of life for Palestinians but would fall well short of a "permanent resolution to the conflict."