A plan to enact sovereignty over roughly 82% of Judea and Samaria is on the government’s table, and thought leaders are debating whether now is the time to move forward—especially given the strong support among evangelical Christians for Israel’s right to territory in what is known as the Biblical heartland.
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The plan, presented by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, centers on the principle of “maximum territory with minimum Arab population.” It covers the areas where Jews live—mainly Area C and parts of Area B—while carving out enclaves for major Arab population centers.
“It’s the best plan that we could get right now,” said Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of the Keep God’s Land initiative, which unites Jewish and Christian faith leaders in support of sovereignty. Weisz also heads Israel365 Action, the newest slate in the World Zionist Congress, which ran on a platform opposing Palestinian statehood.
Not everyone agrees. Veteran journalist and analyst Ben-Dror Yemini said, “this is the last thing” Israel needs.
“Under the circumstances, what’s going on in the international arena … about Israel as an apartheid state … we have to ask, will it help us?” Yemini said. “What we are talking about is actually to carry out exactly what those antisemites in Columbia University are shouting: ‘from the river to the sea.’ But who is carrying out? Who is actually the executor of this? Israel.”
