Why are Judea & Samaria Important?
Judea and Samaria are critically important to Israel for two reasons:
God Promised Judea & Samaria to Israel’s Forefathers – Judea & Samaria is the very heart of the homeland that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for their descendents, the children of Israel.
Judea & Samaria are Essential to Israel’s Security – Judea and Samaria’s location at the very heart of Israel make Israeli sovereignty over this area essential to Israel’s national security.
God Promised Judea & Samaria to Israel’s Forefathers
“Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land. God appeared to Abram and said, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring.’ And he built an altar there to God who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:6-7)
The very first time God promised the land of Israel to Abraham’s descendants, He did so at the “Terebinth of Moreh,” in the heart of Judea and Samaria. God later affirmed this promise to Isaac
(Genesis 26:3) and again to Jacob:
“And God was standing beside him and He said, “I am Hashem, the God of your father Avraham and the God of Isaac: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring.” (Genesis 28:13)
As Jacob makes clear a few verses later, “the ground on which [he was] lying” was the future site of the town of Bethel (Genesis 28:19), which lies squarely in the middle of Samaria.
God Reaffirmed the Promise of Judea & Samaria to the People of Israel
When God first took the people of Israel out of Egypt, He promised them an expansive territory of land, stretching eastward all the way to the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.
“I will set your borders from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of Philistia, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you will drive them out before you.” (Exodus 23:31)
As the people of Israel prepared to enter the holy land, God distinguished between the lands to the east of the Jordan River (modern-day Jordan), in which the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh would dwell, and the lands to the west of the Jordan River, the central core of the holy land, in which the majority of the people of Israel would dwell. God clearly delineated the borders of “central Israel” at the end of the Book of Numbers
“And you shall mark out your line for the east border from Chatzar-Einan to Shefam; and the border shall go down from Shefam to Rivla, on the east side of Ayin; and the border shall go down, and shall strike upon the slope of the Sea of Kinneret eastward; and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Salt Sea; this shall be your land according to the borders thereof roundabout.” (Numbers 34:10-12).
In this verse, God makes clear that the heartland of Israel includes all territory stretching eastward from the Mediterranean Sea “down to the Jordan [River].” The heartland of Israel includes the entirety of Judea and Samaria.
Thousands of Years of Biblical History
The people of Israel lived in Judea and Samaria for thousands of years. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah – the forefathers and foremothers of the people of Israel – are buried in Hebron, the capital of Judea. Joseph is buried in Shechem, in central Samaria. The Tabernacle stood for 369 years in Shiloh, in southern Samaria. It was in Bethlehem, in northern Judea, where Boaz married Ruth, and where David shepherded his flocks as a young man.
Over 90% of the geographical sites mentioned in the Bible are concentrated in Judea and Samaria, and all of the major biblical events occurred in this region. Judea and Samaria, more than any other region in Israel, is the historical homeland of the Jewish people.
God Promised to bring the Exiled People of Israel Back to Judea & Samaria
For thousands of years, the people of Israel dwelt in these lands, until the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the people of Israel were exiled from the Land.
Though the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the people of Israel were exiled and scattered across the world, God promised to bring His people back to the holy land, and to bring them back to the land forever. Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly emphasizes this promise, and explicitly guarantees that Judea and Samaria will belong to the people of Israel:
“God appeared to us… saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt… Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit. (Jeremiah 31:3-5).
And I will return the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and build them up like at first…
There shall again be heard in this place, concerning which you say, “It is desolate without man and without beast,” in the cities of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate without a man and without an inhabitant and without a beast, the sound of mirth and the sound of joy… There shall again be in this place that is waste without man or beast, and in all its cities a dwelling of shepherds resting [their] flocks. In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the Negev and in the land of Benjamin and in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judea… (Jeremiah 33:7-15)
God will Punish the Nations that Seek to Take God’s Land from His People
Not only does God promise Judea and Samaria to the people of Israel, but He promises to bring judgment upon those nations that seek to divide God’s land and take it away from the people of Israel:
“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” (Joel 4:2)
“Therefore, so said the Lord God: I have raised My hand; surely the nations that are around you – they will bear their disgrace. And you, the mountains of Israel, will produce your branches, and you will bear your fruit for My people Israel because they are about to come. And I shall multiply men upon you, the whole house of Israel in its entirety, and the cities will be settled, and the ruins will be built up… And the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, the Lord, have built up the ruined places and have planted the desolate ones; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will perform [it].” (Ezekiel 36:7-10, 36).
“And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, saying, “These are the horns that scattered Judah to the extent that no man raised his head. And these came to cause them to quake, to cast away the horns of the nations that bear a horn against the land of Judah, to scatter it…” For so said the Lord of Hosts: After glory, He sent me to the nations that plunder you, for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. For, behold! I raise My hand over them, and they shall be prey for those who serve them. And you shall know that the Lord of Hosts sent me. (Zechariah 2:3-4, 12-13).
After two millennia of exile, God has brought His people back to His land. Those among the nations who stand in His way will face judgment.
Judea & Samaria are Essential to Israel’s Security
Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is not only God’s will, but it is also essential to the safety and security of the rest of Israel.
Sadly, thousands of terrorists hell bent on Israel’s destruction live in Judea and Samaria, where they are supported by the significant majority of the Arab population. Were Israel to withdraw from these lands, Judea and Samaria would become terrorist states ruled by murderous killers dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Imagine if terrorists tried to establish a terrorist state dedicated to the destruction of the United States on the US-Mexican border. Would the United States allow this to happen?
If Israel were to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, it would place the entire nation at risk. Sadly, Israel has learned this lesson the hard way. In 2005, Israel undertook a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, forcibly evacuating its Jewish inhabitants and dismantling Jewish communities in the region. The aftermath of this withdrawal demonstrated the profound security challenges that arose from relinquishing control. After Israel pulled out of Gaza, the terrorist group Hamas took control of the region and established a terrorist state. Since then, Hamas and its allies have repeatedly launched barrages of rocket attacks on Israeli cities, including major population centers like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. These attacks were orchestrated by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Muslim terrorist groups. To this day, terrorists use the Gaza strip as a staging ground for murderous attacks on Israeli civilians.
Judea and Samaria, lying at the heart of Israel, are crucial to Israel’s security. The region’s elevated terrain, reaching heights of up to 1,050 meters, presents an unparalleled strategic vantage point. This elevation offers the potential to dominate over crucial Israeli population centers spread across a significant swath of the country. From the southern cities of Beersheba and Ashkelon, to the northern urban centers of Netanya and Afula, and even the heartland cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the entire spectrum of Israel’s population centers falls within the scope of Judea and Samaria’s strategic reach. If Muslim terrorists were to gain control over this area, the vast majority of Israel’s population would be in imminent danger of rocket attacks.
Judea and Samaria also encompass pivotal roadways and infrastructure that link various parts of Israel. Control over these critical transportation arteries is not only essential for the movement of goods and people but also for maintaining swift military deployment and emergency response.
The United Nations, European Union and even the United States consistently pressure Israel to remove all Jews from Judea and Samaria and cede these lands to Arabs, where they would establish a Palestinian state. But doing so would be, quite literally, suicidal for the State of Israel.