JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel delayed a vote Sunday on an explosive proposal to annex one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, apparently to coordinate his policy toward the Palestinians with the new administration of President Trump.

The move put on hold legislation that threatens to unleash fresh violence and damage already faded hopes for Palestinian independence. It also might mark Trump’s first foray into Middle East diplomacy.

After eight years of frosty relations with President Obama, Netanyahu has welcomed Trump’s election as an opportunity to strengthen ties between two allied nations.

After the two men talked by phone Sunday, Netanyahu said he accepted an invitation to visit the White House next month. He expressed the hope that he and Trump can forge a ‘‘common vision’’ for the region that could include expanded settlement construction and a tougher policy toward Iran.

Netanyahu’s office described the phone call as a ‘‘very warm conversation.’’ It said they discussed the international nuclear deal with Iran, which both men have harshly criticized, and the Palestinian issue.

‘‘The prime minister expressed his desire to work closely with President Trump to forge a common vision to advance peace and security in the region, with no daylight between the United States and Israel,’’ it said. A date for Netanyahu’s visit will be finalized in the coming days.

The White House said Trump told Netanyahu that peace with the Palestinians ‘‘can only be negotiated directly between the two parties’’ and that the United States will work closely with Israel on that goal.

With Trump signaling a more tolerant approach toward the much-maligned settlement movement, Israel’s nationalist right now believes it has an ally in the White House, and Israeli hard-line leaders make no secret they will push for aggressive action in the occupied West Bank.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the prosettlement Jewish Home Party, has been pushing Netanyahu to abandon the internationally backed idea of a Palestinian state and to annex the Maaleh Adumim settlement near Jerusalem.

But after convening his Security Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said his Cabinet ministers, including Bennett, had decided ‘‘unanimously’’ to delay action until he goes to Washington to meet with Trump. Netanyahu’s office said the Cabinet would hold further discussions ahead of the meeting in early February.

Netanyahu, a longtime supporter of the settlements, has nonetheless been cautious about expanding them in the face of strong opposition from the international community. In a final showdown with Israel last month, the Obama administration allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlements as illegal.

But Bennett and other hard-liners believe there is no longer any reason for restraint.

‘‘For the first time in 50 years, the prime minister can decide: either sovereignty or Palestine,’’ Bennett wrote on Twitter.

There was no explanation for Sunday’s delay. But earlier, an official in the Jewish Home Party said Netanyahu had been trying to delay the Cabinet vote at the request of the Trump administration, which did not want to be blind-sided by unilateral Israeli steps. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal coalition negotiations.

Annexing Maaleh Adumim, a sprawling settlement of nearly 40,000 people east of Jerusalem, could cause a major clash with the Palestinians and the rest of the international community.

The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for a future state.

The Palestinians and the international community consider all settlements illegal, and unilaterally making Maaleh Adumim part of Israel would deal a powerful blow to hopes for a two-state solution.

To the Palestinians, it would be seen as undermining negotiations. Maaleh Adumim is also strategically located in the middle of the West Bank, potentially hindering the establishment of their state.

‘‘If they are serious about making it part of Israel and closing it down, then it is actually cutting the West Bank into two,’’ Hagit Ofran of the antisettlement group Peace Now said.

While Trump has not expressed an opinion on the annexation, he has signaled a kinder approach toward the settlement movement than any of his predecessors.

His designated ambassador to Israel has close ties to Jewish West Bank settlements, and a delegation of settler leaders attended Friday’s inauguration as guests of administration officials.

Trump also has already said he supports one of Israel’s key demands — moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The president ignored a question Sunday from reporters about plans to move the embassy.

The United States, like all other countries, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv, saying the conflicting claims to Jerusalem must be worked out in negotiations.

Trump, however, faces heavy pressure from the Palestinians and Arab countries against moving the embassy. The fate of East Jerusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive religious sites, is deeply emotional, and disagreements have boiled over into violence in the past.

The White House dispelled rumors that Trump had imminent plans to announce the move. It said it was only at the ‘‘very beginning’’ of discussing plans to move the embassy.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sent a series of messages to Trump urging him not to move the embassy and warning that he would revoke recognition of Israel if the move takes place.

Abbas met Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman. Jordan, which serves as the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, has warned that moving the embassy would cross a ‘‘red line.’’ Jordan is a key Israeli and Western ally in the battle against Islamic militants.

Also Sunday, Jerusalem city officials granted building permits for 566 new homes in East Jerusalem. The permits had been put on hold for the final months of the Obama administration.

‘‘We’ve been through eight tough years with Obama pressuring to freeze construction,’’ Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said. ‘‘I hope that era is over.’’