Reports in some Israeli media suggest that Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to freeze the expansion of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, aka, the West Bank in a phone call with President Biden. Netanyahu has denied these reports, though National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi confirmed that there are no plans to move forward with further growth of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria in the near future. Perhaps until at least 2024.
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If any of this is true, I am extremely disappointed, and I'm sure other Israelis feel the same way. It is vital that we continue expanding our communities in Judea and Samaria so that we can hold on to the territory in the long term. The State of Israel would never have been born if our forefathers did not undertake the mammoth task of bringing Jews back to their ancestral land so that we would have enough of a population to warrant the creation of a Jewish state.
In the same respect, Israel will not be able to permanently hold on to Judea and Samaria if we do not continue to grow the Jewish population therein. Right now, the Palestinians are illegally taking over parts of Judea and Samaria by engaging in illegal construction, some of which is financed by the West. The Palestinians will not stop creating facts on the ground and neither should we.
Judea and Samaria is the core of the historical homeland of the Jewish people. Many Israelis are extremely attached to the territory for this reason. Indeed, a survey conducted by the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) revealed that 70% of the Jewish public feel a historical connection to Judea and Samaria, 63% an emotional connection, and 48% a religious connection. But the attachment of Israelis to Judea and Samaria is just one reason that Israel needs to continue expanding its communities in the territory. There are others.
Anyone who cares about Israel must know that the territory of Judea and Samaria is vital for the Jewish state's security. It contains high ground that looks over the Israeli coast, where Tel Aviv and other major Israeli population centers are located. Can you imagine if Palestinian terrorists had control over this territory? They would be able to bombard most of Israel's population with rocket and mortar fire. No Israeli would be safe. And we already know the danger of giving up territory to Palestinian terrorists, because we did so in 2005, when we left the Gaza Strip, only to have our former communities be used as rocket launching sites to attack us.
Judea and Samaria also contains water resources and rich agricultural land – assets that Israel cannot afford to give up. In addition, the territory could harbor the solution to Israel's housing crisis. A professional study led by economist Dr. Amatzia Samkai revealed that housing prices in the Jewish state have doubled in the last decade. It also found that Israel would have to build 25,000 housing units per year in order to lower prices. According to the study, building that number of units in Samaria, which is just 30 km from Tel Aviv, would reduce the cost of housing in the region by 35-45%.
Indeed, many Israelis have chosen to live in Judea and Samaria because of the cheaper cost of housing. By no means do Israelis move to the territory just for ideological or religious reasons. In fact, out of the estimated 700,000 Israelis who now live in Judea and Samaria, only 170,000 of them have declared themselves religious Zionists.
Israel's critics lash out every time our government announces the approval of new homes in Judea and Samaria because they think our communities there are an obstacle to peace. Nonsense! Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are no more an obstacle to peace than Arab communities in pre-1967 Israel are.
In fact, the presence of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria helps to promote peace. How? Because Israelis living in the territory spend millions of shekels on goods and services in Palestinian communities. Furthermore, Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria provide thousands of jobs to Palestinians in the territory. A Palestinian working for an Israeli enterprise can earn more than double the wage of a Palestinian who works for a Palestinian employer. Plus, when Palestinians work alongside Israelis, they help build cultural bridges between the two peoples.
Since January, Prime Minister Netanyahu's government has approved 12,855 new housing units in Judea and Samaria. Not enough! Israel needs to approve more housing in the territory to safeguard our right to it – because it's part of our ancestral homeland, it's vital for Israel's security, and it's vital for the future economic well-being of the Jewish state.
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