Knesset Pushes Bill To Rename West Bank As ’Judea And Samaria’ In Docs

By Staff, Agencies

The Knesset, "Israel's" parliament, has given preliminary approval to a bill proposed by MK Simcha Rothman that mandates replacing the term "West Bank" with "Judea and Samaria" in "Israeli" government documents, the "Jewish Press" news website reported on Wednesday.

"Israel" occupied the West Bank during the Six-Day War in June 1967. Prior to that, the Palestinian territory was under Jordanian control since 1948.

Rothman criticized the current terminology in "Israel’s" legal framework as a "historical distortion” that must be rectified.

"The fact that the official legal language of the State of 'Israel' still includes the disgraceful term ‘West Bank’ is an insult to the Knesset, the Jewish people, and our history," he said.

Rothman claimed that "this phrase serves a false narrative and erases our historical rights.”

The bill’s preamble asserted "that 'Judea and Samaria' are an inseparable part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people," underscoring their deep-rooted significance in Jewish history.

With its preliminary passage, the bill will now be referred to the Knesset’s "Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee"—chaired by Rothman—for further deliberation before proceeding to additional readings.

Notably, a similar initiative to incorporate these terms into official US documents has recently been introduced in Congress.