On 23 July 2025, the Israeli Knesset passed a political declaration calling for the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, asserting what it termed the “natural, historical, and legal right” of the Jewish people to all the land of Israel. It was a political declaration, not a bill, so it carries no legal weight.
Still, its significance far exceeds its formal status. The imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank has become an ideological identity manifesto, placing the Zionist project at a new crossroads where religious prophecy meets military force, and the books of prophets intertwine with the maps of generals.
The declaration was no ordinary political document. This was the first ever Israeli parliamentary vote on annexation, yet it read more like the resurrection of a biblical text emerging from the depths of scripture. In it, the West Bank is called ‘Judea and Samaria’. Both ‘Judea’ and ‘Samaria’ are tied to the ancient biblical Israelite kingdoms that in fact extended beyond the West Bank. It has become a sacred stage, a remnant of divine promise.
Led by the bible
Cities such as Hebron and Nablus are not cited as geographic locales but as theological sanctuaries and footprints of prophets. Here, politics is not shaped by pragmatism, but by religious texts. Nor is this religious revival at the heart of political decision-making an anomaly; it is the culmination of a profound and long-term transformation.
The religious settler movement, once a fringe element in the secular Zionist project, has now become the beating heart of Israeli politics. Itamar Ben-Gvir, once a marginal figure and settler near Hebron, is now Minister of National Security. Israel’s Finance Minister is Bezalel Smotrich, who in 2005 was arrested carrying 700 litres of gasoline on suspicion of planning to blow up a major highway. Both men have now been sanctioned by the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway.
