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FIRST ON FOX: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson dined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Judea and Samaria on Monday, in a visit that marked the most senior visit from a U.S. official to what is still internationally considered the occupied West Bank, but which has become a highly divisive topic in the U.S.
Though the dinner discussion largely focused on the ongoing war in Gaza and how to better secure aid deliveries as Hamas continues wreck on food access, Fox News Digital confirmed with Heather Johnston, the founder of the U.S. Israel Education Association – whose organization planned Johnson’s trip – that he and his delegation will also be meeting with Palestinian leaders during his Middle East visit.
Johnson, whose visit is considered a “private” trip and not an official state visit as it was organized by the association, also met with Israeli officials in the city of Ariel ealier on Tuesday – just over 10 miles from the Green Line, the armistice line marking the borders between Israel and the disputed Palestinian territories.
Though it is not unusual for members of Congress to travel to Israel under private means, including previous Speakers of the House like Kevin McCarthy who also met with Netanyahu in 2023, the location of the Johnson-Netanyahu dinner is significant.
Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation that would require all official U.S. documents to use the name “Judea and Samaria” rather than the West Bank, which it argues has become a “highly divisive label.”
Judea and Samaria refers to the historical and religious ties Israel has to an area that is internationally recognized as the West Bank, and which Israel captured from Jordan during the 1967 war after Amman first seized the territory of Mandatory Palestine, now dubbed the West Bank, during the Israel-Arab war of 1948.
It has since been deemed illegally occupied by the UN and the international community, though the U.S. has fluctuated over its views of the occupation status since President Donald Trump first entered office in 2017.
Trump evaded questions earlier this year over whether he would support Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank despite his strong support for Jerusalem.
But regardless of whether it has the backing of Israel’s chief ally, top officials in Netanyahu’s administration have made clear they intend to annex territory officially and less than two weeks ago the Israeli government passed a non-binding resolution that said Jerusalem should “apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgment and administration” to the West Bank.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about the significance of his visit.
Though it could suggest U.S. lawmakers may take a more decisive role in backing Israel’s expansionist plans as the Trump administration looks to end Israel’s war in Gaza while still opposing European and Arab nation’s increased push for an independent state of Palestine.
The Times of Israel also reported last week that Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the latter of which who Johnson met with on Sunday, believe that “at this very moment, there is a moment of opportunity that must not be missed” to implement “Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
The report did not confirm why this moment in time is so significant.
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