[Prefatory Note: The post below has to do with the decision by the legislative bodies in Israel and the US to hereafter refer internationally to the West Bank by their biblical names, Judea and Samaria. An article by Kazim Aizaz Alam appears in TRT World on February 14 that quotes my responses to an interview he conducted with me on February 12. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/why-us-israel-want-to-rename-occupied-west-bank-as-judea-and-samaria-18264875
I publish here a somewhat extended version of my response to the two questions put to me. The issue of language, as it with authoritative declarations of applicable law make nothing happen by themselves, but they have potentially great values in the symbolic domains where politics occurs.]
1. Isreal claims that the occupied West Bank — which they’re officially renaming as Judea and Samaria — is an integral part of Israel? Some Israelis cite Biblical references to say that Judea and Samaria form an “inseparable part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people”. What does history say? Do the Palestinians have a counter-argument?
The Biblical references, Judea and Samaria, has long been used in Hebrew discourse about the future of the West Bank, especially internally by Israeli leaders, but was not previously used internationally in deference to the broad consensus among state and at the UN on treating the areas of Palestine West of the Jordan River by English language names in the period of the British Mandate. Reference to the biblical names within
Israel conveyed to Israeli public that the governing leadership had not given up its resolve to incorporate the West Bank within the boundaries of its territorial sovereignty whenever political conditions were favorable to such an enlargement of Israel. although the claim, regardless its status in Jewish religious tradition had no modern legal or moral standing.
By using this kind of messaging adherents of Zionist Project had long been signaling to their adherents a rejection of the establishment of meaningful Palestinian statehood even if they appeared to go along for public relations reasons with the two-state approach. It was always was assumed in international circles that a Palestinian state would have its core reality by way of sovereign rights in the West Bank, as supplemented by a national capital in East Jerusalem and recovery of Gaza linked by corridor to the West Bank. This was the dominant contours of the idea underneath the almost universally promoted ‘two-state solution,’ and earlier provided the basis for the UN partition resolution of 1947 [GA 181, Nov 29, 1947] that was rejected by Palestinians at the time as a division of mandate Palestine decreed by the UN without any legitimating referendum determining the preferences of the residents of Palestine or through the participation on the part of authentic representatives of the Palestinian people in shaping the UN plan. Hence, from Palestinian and Arab perspectives this imposition of partition was regarded as an unacceptable denial of the inalienable Palestinian right of self-determination and by the Zionist Movement as a major victory on the road to Palestinian state, second in importance only to the Balfour Declaration pledging British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, an instance of colonial unilateralism.
The Palestinian argument rests on the legal and moral relation of the two peoples as regulated by international humanitarian law and the 4th Geneva Convention governing situations of belligerent occupation that commenced in the aftermath of the 1967 War. The UN has been ineffectual when it comes to addressing the repeated flagrant violations by Israel, which consistently evaded and defied it legal responsibilities as Occupier. This refusal to adhere to its obligation under international law was exhibited in various ways, above all by the establishment and expansion of Jewish settlements, the annexation of the whole of the formerly divided city of Jerusalem, and a reliance on multiple forms of collective punishment. These were the most prominent Israeli and consistent violations, aside from its failure to uphold its primary legal duties specified in the Geneva Convention to respect and leave unaltered the Occupied territory and unconditionally safeguard its inhabitants. Israel never fulfilled the initial widespread expectations on all sides that its occupation of the West Bank in 1967 would be temporary and short-lived. This was the authoritative expectation underpinning the widely heralded unanimous Security Council Resolution 242 adopted unanimously on Nov. 22, 1967. This UN resolution ambitiously and optimistically delimited the conditions for a durable peace: Israeli withdrawal of security forces; peace within secure and recognized boundaries; freedom of navigation; just resolution of ‘refugee problem,’ and security measures including within de facto demilitarized zones.. None of these conditions came to pass because the Israeli state managers of the Zionist Project were determined at some future opportune time to achieve sovereign control of the West Bank, and signaled this intention when comparative weak and insecure only in Hebrew to avoid an international pushback. The names of the West Bank embodied in Jewish traditions involving a return to the so-called ‘promised land’ were ways of keeping faith with dominant strains of Zionist ideology.
2/ What should the Palestinians, and the supporters of their cause in the rest of the world, do to stop the renaming effort?
The Israel overtness in renaming the West Bank as Judea and Samaria indicated an Israeli intention to make these territorial claims overt and to impart active coercive policies to satisfying its remaining territorial and sovereign claims to the West Bank. Such a move in defiance of the UN framework governing Occupation, which was as noted to be accompanied by an expectation of IDF withdrawal, dismantling of the settlements, protection of Palestinian rights.
Governments and media should refuse to follow this Israeli lead as was unfortunately done by the US Government. It is important in contrast to follow the lead of ICJ in its Advisory Opinion of July 19, 2024 in ordering an end to Israel’s prolonged belligerent occupation, not only by an Israel withdrawal of its forces, but also by repudiating any Israeli territorial sovereignty that occurred during its punitive and abusive occupation that has already lasted almost 58 years. Such perceptions of unlawful Israeli administration of the West Bank underlay the ICJ near unanimous and historically important Advisory Opinion that authoritatively set forth Israel’s violation of international norms of belligerent occupation, and placed Israel under a duty to bring to an immediate end its Occupation regime, putting the UN and member governments under a legal obligation to assure that this would happen.
By this internationalization of the Zionist renaming of the West Bank in accordance with its goals, but in opposition to the international consensus is indicative of the confrontation that seems to be the shared intention of Netanyahu and Trump, but if coercively implemented in a substantive manner will further inflame the dire situation facing the Palestinian people who have been subjected to a genocidal ordeal of the past 16 months, and left the Gaza Strip devastated and its people bare survivors of one of the great humanitarian and ecological disasters of modern times. .
Global Justice in the 21st Century 
Dear Professor Falk,
From what I do understand is that contemporary
Abrahamic descendants (both natural and spiritual are Palestinians) – this includes people tribes that are dispersed and are in the Holy Land. The trouble is the Landmarks – not so much the name “The West Bank” – and why such a name anyway? I do not know about this. Ancient Judea and Samaria ceased to exist in the Ancient Territory – while the Ancient People Tribes did not. They did create that, after all – with their rebellion and sin. The Parted territory is not Tribal Territory – it is almost impossible for its tribes to reestablish themselves in the Ancient Land – and this is not possible for humans. It was altered –by humans. Inherently, humans are limited in every way – except in the evil ways with their handle of Sacred and Ecclesiastical things.
It is Palestinian Territory – the Territory of the Ancient Abrahamic People Tribes – who are predominantly of Arabic Origin – both Judaism and Islamic Faiths – as well as descendants from the Ancient Church. It should have stayed and remained Palestine and Palestinian Land. They should have never changed that – just because that is what it was since Abraham, and he is the Father of Our Faith.
Land was stolen, descendants of the ancient people killed, and entire territory turned upside down – and with that, the Ancient Graves were and their ashes disturbed.
Cults and their adherence to the heretical understanding and interpretations of the sacred texts are difficult– renaming the territory to Judea and Samaria is more than troublesome. They certainly do not understand what these things will mean to them in long-terms. Not Really. The “state” of Israel was not bad enough for them, and all the diabolical chaos they have created with it. They certainly are moving in something and certainly look like a frozen state of rebellion and Lawlessness. I just hope and pray for righteous contemporary Judaism to remain in Divine strength and be preserved from all prosecutions and spiritual hardships in this time and age, in the midst of all the confusion of the cults and sects.
And those cults and sects — They can only continue lying, tyranny, barbarism, psychological warfare applications – they did all of this toward elect and diplomats.
The state should never take it upon itself to establish Ancient Names and Ecclesiastical Territories for themself – they are wild and insane. It has become, and it is, “states Terrorism.” Psychological warfare applied to the civil population, elect, and diplomats is state terrorism. That is how far they all have come – in Westen and the Democratic world.
They have NO ECCLESIASTICAL ORDER, AND THEY ARE NOT DEMOCRACY – they are plain joke and tyranny, and they have not shown anyone in the human conscience what it is.
They all have created that state within ecclesiastical territories, and they have created a living hell – it’s all in a frozen state of rebellion.
They certainly have no idea what they are doing, and their human continuation within all of that.
I only hope that they can stop for once – doing what they are doing and start listening to the elderly as you.
Interpretation of the Sacred texts is so difficult, and lay people think they can do it and are insane just by that – and implementation of such things that are conceived in evil spirits and ill will are of grave harm to the human continuity. There is so, so much when comes to the sacred things, and especially manipulations of it in ill will.
UN has allowed the state to be established in Historical Palestine, and not that an ecclesiastically illegal state is a joke upon all nations – it is in a frozen state of rebellion, and they are lawless to all sacred and human standers . It only can get worse with it.
I hope you are doing fine and can enjoy some days of the late winter months – it has been a long winter.
Always praying for you because I know that you are hated — by those who are in “spirit of the prostitution and Satan” — that is exactly what is wrong with them and why they are so barbaric and hateful.
I did study enough of the Sacred text, and that formally and that what I just said is not a guess. It is a contemporarily fact.
They did apply Psychological Warfare on you – had they not, and were you not illegally removed from your UN Mandate their and everyone else’s human continuity may have look much better now and in the future.
Their communion is accursed, and I am not kidding about this.
K.F.
Kata:
I appreciate very much this learned response to this Israeli attempt to
hide behind a false attempt to rest their injustices to the Palestinian
people behind a facade of biblical righteousness.
with my gratitude for your generosity of spirit, Richard
“Richard, this is another erudite presentation that unfortunately will fall on deaf ears.
The US-Israeli power elites, believing they wield a duopoly of Divine mandate to control affairs on Earth, operate under the illusion that their actions are both justified and unchallengeable.
Yet, as the Book of Job reminds us, even Satan’s power in this material world is subject to the specific limits set by God. The Adversary, though granted temporary dominion, is bound by divine authority—a truth that underscores the transient nature of earthly power.
Similarly, the New Testament warns that Satan often appears as an ‘angel of light,’ deceiving those who lack the spiritual discernment to see beyond the surface. In this context, the renaming of the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, framed as a reclaiming of biblical heritage, can be seen as another such deception—a veneer of righteousness masking deeper injustices.
The Palestinians, and those who support their cause, must approach this struggle not only with political and historical arguments but also with a profound awareness of the spiritual dimensions at play.
The biblical narrative of Job teaches us that even in the face of overwhelming oppression, divine justice prevails.
Likewise, the renaming effort, though seemingly insurmountable, is but a fleeting exercise in power—one that will ultimately be judged by a higher authority.
To resist this effort, Palestinians and their allies must continue to amplify their voices, grounded in both historical truth and moral clarity, while reminding the world that no earthly power can claim absolute dominion over lands and peoples. Matthew 13 reminds us, only those with ‘eyes to see’ can perceive the deeper truths hidden beneath the surface of worldly affairs.”
The roadblock is US-Western MSM have an extreme bias for Israel, as if Palestinians Today are the Jews of the 1930-40s in Europe. Trump exemplifies this bias with his concern for the innocents killed in the European Ukraine WAR, and giving Israel the tools to finish the job killing so many innocent women and children in Gaza
I posted an article to my Blog titled, ‘EYES TO SEE’ the day after you posted this.
“Having eyes to see” is an Old and New Testament necessity in these Times of Spiritual Blindness.
Son of man, you are dwelling in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 12:2
Matthew 13 is the New Testament perspective: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
I like the Redemption for the eyes that have not seen as it’s written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
Thanks, Ray, for this Instuctive and compassionate comment by reliance on an essential religous ideiom. An important
addition to our understanding of the Palestinian challenge as up against overwhelming
materialist odds of hard power and unlimited wealth. With solidarity greetings, Richard