Judean Hills: Israel news photo: Wikipedia |
Israel liberated the Judea and Samaria region – which has been the Jewish heartland since Biblical times – from a brief 19-year Jordanian occupation in 1967. Since then it has formally declared sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – also liberated in the 1967 Six Day War – but Judea and Samaria continue to be administered by military governors.
The bill would place Jewish communities under Israeli law, while leaving other areas under Palestinian Authority (PA) control. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to gain UN recognition of a state of "Palestine" creates "a historical opportunity" for Israel "to right a protracted wrong," said Danon.
Using an arboreal metaphor, Danon said that "The tree that Abbas climbed up could produce the fruit of the Zionist endeavor." In the US, lawmaker Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) has introduced a bill in US House of Representatives expressing congressional support for Israel’s right to annex Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. The bill is modeled closely on Danon's bill and has been signed by more than 40 lawmakers.