Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) Source: Reuters

A group of Republican lawmakers is urging US President Donald Trump to formally recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank, citing the territory’s historical ties and importance to the Jewish people. 

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), one of the most strident pro-Israel voices in Congress, spearheaded a letter to Trump, calling on the president to endorse an Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Other signatories to the letter include Mary Miller (R-IL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Andy Harris (R-MD). 

The coalition of pro-Israel Republicans—which are members of the Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus—argue that the internationally recognized borders of the West Bank, “comprise the Judeo-Christian biblical heartland, where over 80 percent of the Torah and Old Testament took place.” Thus, the lawmakers claim that acknowledging Israel’s claim over the West Bank would be central to reinforcing America and Israel’s shared “Judeo-Christian heritage.” 

The lawmakers argue that recognizing the West Bank as Israeli territory would help build upon Trump’s record of supporting the Jewish state, pointing to his 2021 recognition of the City of David in Jerusalem as a “testament to America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and founding principles.” The lawmakers claim that the West Bank, which they refer to as Judea and Samaria, is similarly critical to Israel’s national identity. 

They also said that they were in “strong opposition to the recognition of any hostile Arab state in Judea and Samaria that supports terrorism and fails to recognize Israel.” 

Israeli leaders have also publicly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state within the West Bank, arguing that the territory would become a hotbed of terrorism and launching pad for direct attacks into the Jewish state’s population centers. 

In the immediate aftermath of President Trump’s victory last November, several high-profile conservative lawmakers vowed to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, aligning themselves with the terminology preferred by Israel. To many observers, the shift in language signaled a shift in US policy closer to the Jewish state and in favor of further expansion of Jewish communities in the territory. However, critics have argued that the change in language might inflame tensions in the Middle East, complicating the possibility of reaching a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nonetheless, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), introduced legislation in December banning the federal government from using the term “West Bank” instead of  “Judea and Samaria,” arguing that the bill would “align US policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region.”

Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has also vowed to use the words Judea and Samaria in lieu of the West Bank. 

“I can’t say something I don’t believe. As you well know, I’ve never been willing to use the term ‘West Bank.’ There is no such thing. I speak of Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee told Israeli media outlet Arutz Sheva in an interview. “I tell people there is no ‘occupation.’ It is a land that is ‘occupied’ by the people who have had a rightful deed to the place for 3,500 years, since the time of Abraham.”