Judea and Samaria

A map Judea and Samaria

Judea and Samaria or its the most commonly used secular name, the West Bank, refers to the ancient Jewish homelands located in the west bank of the Jordan River near Jerusalem in the Holy Land. The land is bitterly disputed between Jewish and Arab settlers in the region. The West Bank has been controlled by Israel since the Six-Day War (1967) and part of it by the State of Palestine since the Oslo Accords. The West Bank is not officially part of any country, and is often referenced in the media as a Palestinian authority as it is recognized by the international community.

The total population, which is predominantly Arab "Palestinian", totals 2.9 million residents in an area of 2,183 square miles. Historic religious sites such as Bethlehem are located in the West Bank, while Jerusalem is on its border.

History / background

The name "West Bank" was used by Jordan (at the time The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan) for the area controlled under the 1949 Armistice Agreements at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Jordan annexation of the West Bank in this war lasted for 19 years and was never condemned by a single United Nations resolution.

During the Six-Day War in 1967 King Hussein of Jordan ordered his army to attack Israel. The Jordan artillery shelled Israeli population centers in West Jerusalem while the Israeli army responded to the attacks by conquering East Jerusalem and the West Bank. According to the Article 52 of the UN Charter Israel acted legal by defending itself against the Jordan aggression. Nevertheless, the "occupation" of the West Bank through Israel was condemned by the European Union.

Since the Oslo Accords, several parts of the territory is under Arab rule. There is presence of Arab Christians, which are mostly Catholic and Orthodox.

The region commonly referred to internationally as the "West Bank" is conceptualized through a framework of historical rights, strategic necessity, and security imperatives.

Historical, Biblical, and Legal Rights

The Biblical Heartland

Conservative commentators and leaders emphasize that Judea and Samaria represent the cradle of Jewish history and identity, containing ancient capitals and sacred heritage sites such as Hebron, Shiloh, Beit El, and Shechem.

The article "The Battle for Judea and Samaria: The Jewish People's Biblical Heartland" explores the intensifying political, strategic, and physical contest over the region commonly referred to internationally as the West Bank.

The article emphasizes the deep-rooted historical, archaeological, and scriptural ties of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria, framing the area not as foreign land or a colonial settlement project, but as the ancient cradle of Jewish identity, heritage, and history.

Rejection of the Term "West Bank"

"West Bank" is characterized as a modern political designation coined by Jordan in 1950 to delineate territory it annexed. "Judea and Samaria" were the administrative district names used during the British Mandate and in earlier historical periods.

International Law and Legal Title

Under international legal principles such as uti possidetis juris, Israel inherited the boundaries of Mandatory Palestine upon independence in 1948. Because Jordan's subsequent occupation and annexation were not internationally recognized by most states, Israel's recovery of the territory in 1967 is viewed by proponents of this position not as an occupation of a foreign country, but as the liberation and reclamation of its own sovereign territory.

Strategic Defense and Security

The High Ground

Geographically, the hills of Judea and Samaria overlook Israel's narrow and densely populated coastal plain. Conservatives argue that maintaining a permanent military and civilian presence in the region is a non-negotiable security requirement.

The Precedent of Gaza

Writers frequently cite Israel's 2005 Gaza disengagement as a cautionary tale. They argue that withdrawing from Judea and Samaria would create a strategic vacuum that could be filled by Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, bringing rocket fire and existential threats directly to central Israel. Worth mentioning, Islamist Hamas rise came about after Israel gave away (Gush Katif) land in 2005. This line was reinforced by many in the mainstream following the shocking surprise genocidal Oct 7 attack by the Arab Palestinian Islamic Gaza regime.

The article explains: "Jewish building and settling in Judea and Samaria is more than an ideological position; it is a necessary measure to ensure Israel’s security and safeguard its people from the strategic vulnerabilities."

Shifting Israeli Policy and Enforcement:

Following the current Israeli government's return to office, the state has adopted a more assertive approach to controlling and shaping the territory. This includes efforts to expand Israeli settlements and infrastructure, alongside increased state enforcement and political determination regarding land management.

The Contest over Facts on the Ground:

The struggle for land control is particularly prominent in Area C. Organizations such as Regavim monitor Palestinian construction and enforcement measures. Proponents of Israeli settlement argue that these actions are essential to preventing the strategic loss of territory and securing the biblical heartland for future generations.

Defensive War Context:

Following regional escalations and domestic security threats, Israeli prime ministers and military strategists have framed sweeping military operations and closures in the region as preventative measures intended to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and prevent mass casualties.

The region is also presented as a vital security buffer for Israel's heartland. Proponents of a strong Israeli presence argue that retaining military and municipal control over Judea and Samaria, including the Jordan Valley, is essential to defending the country against regional threats and preventing the establishment of a hostile sovereign entity along its most vulnerable borders.

Different motivations

Haredim and Religious Zionists: Different Motivations

Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Position

According to Haredi sources and sociological data, the Haredi stance on Judea and Samaria is driven primarily by pragmatism, demographic necessity, and affordable housing rather than right-wing nationalism.

Historically, Haredi communities have been open to territorial concessions when considered necessary to save Jewish lives under the principle of Pikuach Nefesh. At the same time, severe housing shortages have contributed to the Haredi community's growth across the Green Line, including the establishment of large, predominantly Haredi cities such as Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit.

Haredi leadership maintains a non-Zionist theological framework that separates residential settlement from ideological nationalism. Nevertheless, Haredi political factions, on pratical basis, generally align with Israel's political bloc on the right to protect the homes, budgets, and infrastructure serving the hundreds of thousands of Haredi residents living across the Green Line.

Religious Zionist Position

(Internationally referred to as "settlers")

Religious Zionists generally frame settlement in Judea and Samaria through an explicitly ideological and theological commitment to the Land of Israel, emphasizing biblical heritage, Jewish national identity, and the historical and religious significance of the region. Strategic security considerations and the expansion of Jewish settlement are also central to this position.

While Haredi support for settlement is shaped by housing needs, demographic considerations, and political pragmatism, Religious Zionist support is more directly rooted in religious-nationalist ideology and the belief that Jewish settlement in the region fulfills a historical and religious mission.

Christians in the West Bank

Main article: Palestinian Authority#Christian minority

Maronite Catholics in the West Bank on Good Friday of 2012.

A large number of Christians are indigenous to the region, and many of these are descended from the first Christians- the first Jews who chose to follow Jesus. Also many Arameans, another Semitic group native to the area, accepted Christ very early on in the history of Christianity, and thus contribute a lot to the genetics of today's Christians in the Palestinian Authority, later joined over thousand years later by surviving European crusaders and their families after their defeat at the hands of the Islamic armies, when they blended into the native, Semitic Christian population.

There are Catholic and Orthodox Churches in the West Bank and Gaza. The Iraqi-born, Assyrian Australian prelate, Mar Mari Emmanuel, visited Gaza once. The situation of Christians in Bethlehem has deteriorated dramatically in the last century, and especially since the PA took control of the city in 1995. In 1947, Christians comprised about 85% of the city’s population, but that figure had plunged to 16% by 2016, and is estimated since then.

Bethlehem’s mayor at the time said that, “Due to the stress – either physical or psychological – and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating: either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians because they already are a minority.”

Though the Christians in the PA avoid saying so publicly, many of them fear – with good reason – that Muslim aggression against them will only escalate.

The situation of Christians in Bethlehem has deteriorated dramatically in the last century, and especially since the PA took control of the city in 1995. In 1947, Christians comprised about 85% of the city’s population, but that figure had actually plunged to 16% by 2016, and is estimated since then.

2019 report cited "Islamic oppression" as the main source of persecution at Christian small minority of Arab Palestinians.

The mayor of Ramallah Issa Kassis is Christian. The mayor of Ramallah expressed to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, his willingness to deepen the collaboration between the municipality of the city and the Church, especially with regard to possible Palestinian Christian cultural projects. Members of the parish council also stressed the importance of this kind of initiatives, recalling their desire to increase the visibility of Christians in the Holy Land, not only locally but also abroad. The mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Hanania, is also Christian.

See also

• Palestinian Authority
• Ramallah
• Bethlehem
• Gaza Strip

References

"The Mufti.. concocted a new kind of antisemitism that combined traditional Muslim antisemitism, like the anti-Jewish verses you find in the Koran, with the Nazi antisemitism that demonised Jews... His whole ideology was antisemitic and from the very beginning he targeted Jews, not Zionists."

The difference between lies and reality is sometimes just a color on a map

Lord Peel to W. Ormsby-Gore as he was preparing the royal commission report, "Though I knew there was ill-feeling between Jews and Arabs, I had not realized the depth and intensity of the hatred with which the Jews are held by the Arabs..."

"It is not Israel's settlement blocks but rather the Palestinian ideological blockade that constitutes the biggest barrier to peaceful arrangements . The Jew-hatred in this region must no longer be played down as a kind of local custom ..."

The only tweet (July 2014) on the Twitter account of the late American Elan Ganeles - murdered by Arab-Islamist "Palestinian" on Feb 27, 2023 hy"d: "I think you're always going to have tension in the Middle East, when there's [are] people who want to kill Jews, and the Jews don't want to be killed, and neither side is willing to compromise."