As Israel considers extending sovereignty to portions of Judea and Samaria—what some call the “West Bank”—the United States should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its cherished ally, affirming its historical, legal and moral right to do so.
The land of Judea and Samaria, though less than half the size of metro Indianapolis, holds profound significance for the Jewish people and for all who hold the Bible dear.
Here on land purchased by Abraham 4,000 years ago lie the burial places of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Matriarchs Sarah, Leah, and Rebecca on land purchased by Abraham. Rachel, Jesse (King David’s father) and Joseph, whose bones his descendants carried out of Egypt at the Exodus, also rest here.
Hebron, the ancient Kingdom of Israel’s capital, and Jerusalem, the eternal capital where the Temple built by Solomon stood, are in this region. In Shiloh, where U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee recently made a historic visit, Joshua apportioned the Promised Land amongst the twelve tribes after 40 years of wandering in the desert after their deliverance from slavery.
For over 300 years, Shiloh housed the Tabernacle, containing the Ark of the Covenant. There, Hannah prayed for a son. This son became the prophet Samuel, who anointed Israel’s first kings, Saul and David. Twenty miles to the southeast is Jericho—the famed walled city the Israelites marched around for one week prior to victory with the sound of trumpets.
Judea and Samaria truly are the heart of the Jewish homeland.
Foreign empires—Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans—occupied the Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE. The Romans even renamed Israel “Palestinia” 2,200 years ago to squelch Jewish hopes of independence.
Jews were dispersed into exile across modern-day Iran, Arabia, Europe, Africa, and beyond. By the 16th century, only an estimated 5,000 Jews remained in their homeland.
Yet through centuries of exile with forced conversions, pogroms, and more expulsions, the Jewish people never wavered in their longing for Zion and
hope of national restoration. Passover seders conclude with the exclamation, “Next Year in Jerusalem!” When praying—at home, in public, or in a synagogue—Jews turn toward Mount Zion in Jerusalem where the Temple stood.
Jews take to heart the words of the exiles envisioned by the Psalmist: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” An unbreakable bond exists between the soul of the Jewish people and their homeland.
In the late 19th century, Theodor Herzl’s vision of an imminent reestablishment of a Jewish state rekindled hope. After the Allied victory in World War I dissolved the Ottoman Empire, the next generation of Zionists built on his endeavors.
In 1917, British Foreign Minister Balfour affirmed support for a “Jewish national home” that included Judea and Samaria and parts of modern-day Jordan. The 1922 League of Nations Mandate refined this to only the land west of the Jordan River, still including Judea and Samaria.
But not until the end of World War II, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, did the dream of a reestablished Jewish state become a reality. In 1946, Transjordan gained independence.
In 1947, the U.N. partition plan proposed splitting the remaining Mandate for the land between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River into Jewish and Arab states. Despite the plan denying Israel national sovereignty over Jerusalem, Israel accepted the proposal, declaring independence on May 14, 1948.
The rebirth of an independent Jewish nation-state arrived at last! The following day,
Israel’s neighbors attempted to extinguish her. Israel survived. Israel gained permanent lawful sovereignty over much of the region. However, the armistice left Egypt illegally occupying Gaza and Jordan occupying the west bank of the Jordan River.
For the next 19 years, Israel lived in a tense cold war with her Arab neighbors. In 1967, they mounted another attempt at annihilation. Israel’s victory in the Six Day War proved decisive, leaving Gaza, Jerusalem, and the entirety of the “West Bank” in its possession.
Israel chose initially to apply sovereignty only to its historic capital of Jerusalem, while still maintaining a military presence for security purposes in Judea and Samaria and allowing limited Israeli development. Israeli development in limited areas.
Regardless, Israel still has the right to extend sovereignty to the remainder of Judea and Samaria.
As Professor Eugene Kontorovich explains, “The West Bank was never Jordan’s sovereign territory, nor an Arab Palestinian state. Israel, as successor to the Mandate for Palestine, holds the strongest claim under international law.”
He further notes, “International law holds that a new country inherits the borders of the prior geopolitical unit in that territory. Israel was preceded by the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, whose borders included the West Bank.”
Calls to extend Israeli sovereignty to portions of Judea and Samaria are growing louder. For decades, Israel has sought peace, offering numerous proposals that included the creation of another Arab state within the Jewish homeland.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization—an entity with a history of terrorism—has rebuffed these overtures each time, including the 1978 Camp David Accords, 1993 Oslo Accords, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Roadmap to Peace.
Throughout these futile negotiations, the importance of Judea and Samaria to Israel’s security continues to be demonstrably vital. The Jordan Valley buffers eastern threats from the Jordanian desert plains, while western ridges overlook Israel’s only international airport and its most populous urban centers vulnerable to rocket attacks. The region’s aquifers and rivers are critical for water supply for both Israelis and Arabs alike.
Judea and Samaria also play an increasingly important role in Israel’s economy. Orchards, groves, farms, and vineyards in Judea and Samaria thrive on plots of land cultivated by Jewish farmers 2,000 years ago. More than 750,000 Israelis, including 300,000 in suburban Jerusalem, live in Judea and Samaria today. They build hospitals, schools and businesses—transforming the desert into civilization.
Sovereignty is more than symbolic. Civilian Israeli law would replace Ottoman-era military laws. This would streamline development and expand economic opportunities for Israelis and Palestinians. Sovereignty also gives assurance to businesses and families can invest here without the fear of eviction by their own government—a fate that befell Jewish families in Gaza twenty years ago.
Judea and Samaria are intertwined with Jewish heritage and faith. The claim by Israel to this region of economic and strategic importance is rooted in history and affirmed by international law. Should Israel declare sovereignty over the heart of the homeland of the Jewish people, including all of an undivided Jerusalem, the U.S. should offer its wholehearted support.