Judea and Samaria

Dear editor:

You have to know the facts.

The name of the area was Judea and Samaria from biblical times until 1950, when Jordan occupied the area, naming it the “West Bank.” All Jews living in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) were either killed or forced out of the area during Jordan’s illegal occupation of the area which started in 1948. There’s no such thing as the “67 border”.  These “borders” are armistice lines from 1949, when Israel and the attacking Arab neighbors stopped fighting.

Jerusalem has never been the capital of “Palestine” or any Arab entity.  That’s an historical fact.

Judea was renamed “Syria Palestine” by the Romans in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel.  Under the Ottoman Empire (1517-1917), the term Palestine was used as a general term to describe the land south of Syria, it was not an official designation.  The area was ruled by Britain from 1917 to 1948, and before this the area was part of the Ottoman Empire.

No independent Arab or Palestinian state ever existed in the geographical area once known as “Palestine,” and no political form, printed money, army, or head of state has existed either.  A State of Israel has existed and has had a Jewish presence for over 3,000 years, Israel is not occupying land but rather holding and building on its biblical, historical and legal land, Judea and Samaria.