In a historic milestone, US House Speaker Mike Johnson became the first high-ranking American official to visit Judea and Samaria, touring the settlement of Ariel on August 4, 2025. Accompanied by Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Republican lawmakers, Johnson and the delegation planted vines symbolizing partnership and met Yesha Council leaders advocating sovereignty. Johnson dined with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Shiloh, affirming unwavering US-Israel ties amid Palestinian condemnations.
“The mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish people,” Speaker Johnson said while in Ariel. “Judea and Samaria are the front line of the state of Israel and must remain an integral part of it. Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you,” Johnson added.
Speaker Johnson’s historic visit signals a potential shift in American policy, implicitly recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the disputed region. His biblical affirmation of Jewish rights and meetings with settlement leaders bolster Israel’s annexation push, which was thought to risk straining US-Palestinian ties and escalating tensions with Arab allies. The move emboldens pro-Israel Republicans while complicating bipartisan consensus and peace negotiations.
In Gallup surveys conducted in June through August 2025, only 21% of adults in Israel said that they believe permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be achieved. This number is nearly identical to the 23% of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and east Jerusalem who expressed the same view. In both populations, roughly three times as many (63% in Israel, 65% in Judea and Samaria, and East Jerusalem) say permanent peace between Israelis and Palestinians will probably never come to pass.
While the UK, France, Canada, and Australia all recently bought into the two-state solution and recognized a non-existent Palestinian state, the Israelis and Palestinians of the region find the idea of a Palestinian state, an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and permanent peace unrealistic and unlikely.
At the same time, the American Congress has shown great support for Israeli rights to Judea and Samaria. Congress is scheduled to hold a discussion next month on the application of Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, who chairs the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, emphasized that Washington stands in “solidarity with the Jewish people, with the people in Judea and Samaria, who have a right to live there. I believe firmly in the importance of recognizing that right. And that’s why we will be holding a hearing next month about Judea and Samaria.”
Trump administration is not supportive of annexation
The Trump administration has been supportive of Jewish rights to live in Judea and Samaria, but has never explicitly been in favor of annexation. Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo created what has come to be known as the “Pompeo Doctrine,” which stated that Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria do not violate international law. At the same time, President Donald Trump explicitly stated he is not in favor of Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria, at least not at this time. On the tarmac of Ben-Gurion Airport, US Vice President JD Vance declared emphatically that Israel will never annex the West Bank.
Jason Greenblatt, a key architect of the Abraham Accords, recently joined Trump in coming out against the Israeli government’s reported plans to annex portions of the West Bank, saying, “I think President Trump is making the right call. I don’t think this is the time. I don’t think it’s the place. And I was part of the team that wrote the paperwork that would have allowed Israel to… apply Israeli sovereignty.”
Jewish history in Judea and Samaria spans over three millennia, beginning with the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob settling in Hebron and Shechem around 3,800 years ago. The region became the heartland of ancient Israel under Kings David and Solomon, with Jerusalem as the capital and the First Temple built circa 957 BCE.
Despite conquests by Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, Jewish communities persisted, rebuilding the Second Temple in 516 BCE. Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Ottoman, and British rule followed, yet Jewish presence endured through continuous settlement in cities like Hebron, Shechem, and Beit El until modern times.
Recently, the Knesset approved advancing a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The bill, titled “Application of Israeli Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, 2025,” passed by a narrow margin of 25-24 following a heated discussion in the Knesset. The proposal for the bill stipulates that “the laws, judicial system, administration, and sovereignty of the State of Israel shall apply to all areas of settlement in Judea and Samaria.”
From the heated discussion in the Knesset to the lack of objection, Israelis – a usually very expressive people – showed they accepted the government’s decision to take sovereignty and annexation off the table. It is clear that, for the most part, Israelis don’t view annexation of Judea and Samaria as a priority.
A recent poll showed that a large majority of Israelis oppose annexation of the West Bank and favor strengthening ties with moderate Arab states. According to the findings, 72% of respondents said that preserving the Abraham Accords and expanding relations with moderate Arab countries is a core national interest. Only 13% disagreed.
The settlement and pro-sovereignty community will not succeed in having the Knesset vote to annex Judea and Samaria if it doesn’t have the support of the Israeli people. It is time for the settler community to turn its attention inward and begin having heart-to-heart conversations with fellow Israelis about the important history of Judea and Samaria.
There must be marketing campaigns and invitations for the rest of Israel to see the beauty of the heartland of its nation. Only then will annexing Judea and Samaria to the State of Israel gain the broad support it needs to pass in the Knesset as a policy with national consensus.
The writer is a certified interfaith hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and the mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho, where she enjoys spending time with her family.