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House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing shows sharp split over legal status of Judea and Samaria
Summary
Three experts offered conflicting frames: a Heritage Foundation fellow argued mandatory‑period borders give Israel a strong sovereign claim to Judea and Samaria; a ZOA leader emphasized biblical and historic ties and security risks of withdrawal; a CSIS scholar urged preserving diplomatic options and improving daily life rather than unilateral steps.
Three witnesses at a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing offered sharply different accounts of the legal and strategic status of "Judea and Samaria," a term many officials use for the West Bank, leaving members with contrasting policy options.
Professor Eugene Kantorovich, identified in the record as a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the panel that the territory is "largely synonymous with the term West Bank" and argued that under a rule he described as the doctrine of uti possidetis (rendered in the record as "jutipotidetis juris") "a new country automatically inherits the borders of the last top level administrative unit in the area." He said that, on that basis, Israel "has…
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