A group of GOP legislators, led by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is pushing President Trump to recognize Judea and Samaria, or the West Bank, as sovereign Israeli territory, putting the area as “the heart” of the U.S. and Israel’s “shared Judeo-Christian heritage.”
“This region is the heart of our shared Judeo-Christian heritage and recognition of the right of Israel to declare sovereignty over this region would build upon your previous recognition of the importance of this heritage,” the letter sent to Trump states. “In anticipation of a potential policy announcement regarding Judea and Samaria in the next few weeks, we want to express our strong support for recognizing Israel’s right to declare sovereignty over this historically and biblically significant region. We also wish to express our strong opposition to the recognition of any hostile Arab state in Judea and Samaria that supports terrorism and fails to recognize Israel.”
The letter continues by praising Trump for lifting sanctions on Israelis in the area, which were imposed by the Biden administration in order to punish Israelis that they had accused of violence against Palestinians after the October 7th terrorist massacres.
Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill., Randy Weber, R-Texas, Andy Harris, R-Md., Barry Moore, R-Ala., and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., members of the Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus, also signed on to the letter.
Trump mentioned a potential new policy for the area earlier this month, saying that “[W]e're discussing that with many of your representatives. People do like the idea, but we haven’t taken a position on it yet. But we will be making an announcement on that very specific topic in the next four weeks.”
Trump is seen as much friendlier to the Israelis and the idea of moving into the West Bank than former President Biden was. During his first term, Trump reversed the policy of the U.S. that Israeli settlements in the area were a violation of international law. He has also been much friendlier to Israel and its efforts to win its war in Gaza, such as his sending of the weapons Israel bought from the U.S. which were halted by Biden.
“The most important thing we're watching is that [the United States is] engaged and involved. Until Donald Trump was sworn in, there was a disengagement, and when we were engaged it was schizophrenic,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, told Newsmax on Tuesday. “ We never knew whether the American policy was steadfast with Israel, or kind of with Israel but telling them how they ought to prosecute the war and at what point they can go into certain cities and whether or not we were gong to withhold arms, which we did, by the way.”
However, with Trump in office, “there is clarity. There's a certainly. The trumpet is blowing a clear, clear signal, and that signal is that America will stand by its allies, number one. Number two, we are not going to flinch when we deal with these murderous terrorists,” Huckabee continued.