Should Israel Annex Judea and Samaria?

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will sit down with Donald Trump in Washington. One issue reportedly might be discussed: the future of Judea and Samaria, what the world calls the “West Bank.”

The village on the top of a hill in the Judean Desert (Shutterstock)

But Trump didn’t mince words last week. He said, “It’s time to stop,” making it clear that he does not support Israel annexing the territory.

And that brings us to a question that refuses to go away:

Should Israel annex Judea and Samaria?

Judea and Samaria: Not a Slogan, a Birthright

Let’s be clear about something: this is not foreign land. Judea and Samaria aren’t names made up by Zionists in the 1960s. These are the Biblical heartlands of the Jewish people. Abraham walked there. David ruled there. Prophets preached there. It’s called Judea for a reason.

This isn’t a real estate deal. It’s indigenous land.

And when a nation returns to the land of its ancestors after 2,000 years of exile, persecution, pogroms, and genocide, that is not colonization. That is the fulfillment of every prayer whispered in every exile.

So, when the international community debates whether Israel has the right to annex Judea and Samaria, the question itself is off. You don’t need permission to live in your own house. You don’t need to negotiate the terms of your own inheritance.

view of Promised Land from Mount Nebo in Jordan (Shutterstock)

Why the World Is Nervous

Of course, the moment Israel says the word “annex,” the world loses its mind.

Europe threatens boycotts. The UN drafts another resolution. And journalists everywhere get back to using the word “apartheid.”

Why? Because the international system, diplomatic, legal, academic, is still obsessed with the idea that this land belongs to someone else. That Israel is an occupier. That the 1967 borders are sacred.

But here’s the truth no one likes to say out loud: those borders were never borders. They were armistice lines drawn in blood after five Arab armies failed to wipe Israel off the map.

Israel didn’t start that war. It won it. And yes, it won back the very land the Bible begins with.

So, let’s stop acting like Israel is sneaking into someone else’s backyard. It’s moving back into its own bedroom.

The Real Issues: Security, Demographics, and Consequences

Judea and Samaria are filled with Jews and Palestinians, families, farmers, civilians. It's not just a question of land, but of governance, law, rights, and responsibility.

How do you secure your ancestral homeland while maintaining stability? How do you uphold the Jewish character of the state while ensuring democratic values? How do you deal with a region the world watches under a microscope?

These are not minor details, they are existential questions.

And for the record: I don’t believe Palestinians should be expelled from their homes. That’s not a solution. Any future that doesn’t include them is not a real future.

And maybe that’s why the smartest approach right now isn’t rushing into declarations or making headlines. Because a homeland is not just taken. It’s built, with wisdom, courage, and a long memory.

Ancient biblical map of Israel showing Judea and surrounding regions (Shutterstock)

Stop Asking for Permission

But here’s what should never be up for debate: our right to be there.

Israel does not need a green light from anyone to exist where we have always belonged. We didn’t come back to this land to apologize for being alive. We didn’t survive the Holocaust to ask permission to live in Hebron.

Annexation may or may not be the move today. But that decision should come from Israel, not from Macron, not from the EU, not from the UN, not from global opinion polls.

The world respects strength. The world respects conviction. And Israel has every historical, moral, and spiritual right to both.

The Real Question

So the question isn’t really “Should Israel annex Judea and Samaria?”

The question is: Why are we still asking permission to live in our own homeland?

We don’t owe the world explanations for reclaiming our past. We owe it to our ancestors to stop apologizing for it.

Call it annexation. Call it sovereignty. Call it historical justice.

Just don’t call it negotiable.