A group of Republican lawmakers is turning up the heat on President Donald Trump to recognize the West Bank as Israeli territory after the president suggested he was looking into such a change.
A new letter to Trump, led by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., frames the fraught territory, occupied by both Palestinians and Israelis, as the heartland 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 reads.
‘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 also applauds Trump for lifting sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, imposed under the Biden administration.
The order was meant to punish Israeli settlers accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Five other members of the Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus signed on to the letter: Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill., Randy Weber, R-Texas, Andy Harris, R-Md., Barry Moore, R-Ala., and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.
Trump teased a new announcement on West Bank policy earlier this month.
‘We’re discussing that with many of your representatives,’ he said. ‘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 expected to have a far more permissive view of Israeli expansion into the West Bank than the Biden administration. He reversed long-standing U.S. policy during his first administration that deemed Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of law.
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For the first time in two decades, Israel moved tanks into the West Bank, turning its attention to militants hiding there after the signing of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Palestinians see the effort as Israel setting up an effort to retake the areas currently run by the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces would stay in the West Bank ‘as long as needed.’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said troops would be in urban areas of the West Bank at least ‘for the coming year’ and the 40,000 Palestinians who fled would not be able to return to their homes.
‘We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,’ he said.