Jews Supporting Judea and Samaria in 1862

The report on charity endeavors for Jews in Eretz-Yisrael in the year 1862, including Hebron, from the Occidental - American Jewish Advocate:

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The Post-1967 Origin of "Judea and Samaria"

I have translated this blog post from the Hebrew (found here), with my additions is brackets []:

January 26, 2016
West Bank, Judea and Samaria, or Yehuda and Ephraim: 
How was the name Judea and Samaria defined?


A few days ago, Brigadier General (res.) Ephraim Lapid asked us when the name of the "West Bank" was changed to "Judea and Samaria"? As a result, we embarked on a small study.

During the Six-Day War, the IDF took control of the western part of the Kingdom of Jordan, that area west of the Jordan River, officially named by the Jordanians as "the West Bank" [after its 'annexation'] [and see text here]. 

On June 7, 1967, Major General Haim Herzog was appointed commander of IDF forces in the region The West Bank, which was held by the IDF (and then completed his term as the national radio announcer.) This area also included East Jerusalem before the decision to unify it with West Jerusalem (June 28, 1967). A week later, Herzog finished his position and his powers were transferred to Major General Central Command Uzi Narkis.

However, some Israelis were uncomfortable with the use of the name "West Bank" because the name testified to the acceptance of Jordanian rule in this area - although almost all the countries of the world refused to recognize de jure Jordanian rule in that area. A study of the "Historical Jewish Press" website (which does not include the newspapers Haaretz [now, yes] and Yedioth Ahronoth) shows that from the end of August 1967, the phrase "Judea and Samaria" began to penetrate the public discourse, for example an article by Hannah Zemer in Davar of September 8. [I found one in LaMerchav on August 25; and on July 11, 1948, Maariv, quoting Reuters, complained about Glubb Pasha taking over the hills of "Judea and Samaria"] On December 27, 1967, Davar reported the appointment of Col. Rehavia Vardi as Commander of the Judea and Samaria Region, in which, from June 1967 until December 1967, the term "Judea and Samaria" was mentioned 22 times, while the phrase "West Bank" was mentioned 1,121 times in the first half of 1968 [at least]. The references to "Judea and Samaria" rose to 75 times, while references to the "West Bank" dropped to 202 times.

On February 5, 1968, MK Eliezer Shostak, a member of the "Free Center" faction that advocated the idea of ​​a "Greater Israel," tabled a parliamentary question in which he protested the use of the term "West Bank" and not "Judea and Samaria" by government ministers and spokesmen. Eshkol replied: "The official name used by government ministries and the IDF is Judea and Samaria. It is difficult for me to enter into historical research, ... or to enter into gynecology - how the name 'West Bank' was born"("Divrei HaKnesset ", p. 915-914). The Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan, stated the next day: "I do not imagine that it is possible to remove from the sphere of connection of the Jewish people in their homeland the same areas of Judea and Samaria that were the cradle of the Jewish people" (Davar, 7.2.1968).

Dr. Haim Gavriahu, chairman of the Bible Research Society and former head of the Bible Lectures at David Ben-Gurion's home, appealed the name "Judea and Samaria" on the grounds that the person who gave the area the name Shomron was the Assyrians and appealed to Dayan to adopt "and Ephraim". As a result, on May 23, Dayan approached the government secretary, Yael Uzai, and asked the government to discuss the matter (this document and the other documents in this post are taken from file 6432/30). Eshkol apparently was not enthusiastic about bringing the matter up for discussion in the government plenum for fear that such a discussion would ignite a dispute between the ministers. He therefore instructed Ozai to consult with the Rector of the Hebrew University, Professor Nathan Rotenstreich, who replied that he intended to discuss this with Prof. Benjamin Mazar. On July 9, Rotenstreich replied that Mazar recommended using the term "Judea and Samaria" because the person who gave the area the name "Samaria" was king Omri 

and Uzai gave the answer to Dayan and added that the matter would be referred to the government Names Committee. Dayan agreed to transfer the matter to the Government Names Committee, provided that it did not delay its decision. It should be noted that the geographer Professor David Amiran also objected to the name "Yehuda and Ephraim" and addressed Eshkol on this issue - while apologizing to his office manager Aviad Yaffe for disturbing the Prime Minister.

Following the receipt of Mazar's opinion, Uzai turned to Dr. Avraham Biran, chairman of the Government Names Committee. On July 22, 1968, committee coordinator Reuven Alkalai replied that the committee had determined that the area would be called "Judea and Samaria". Uzai distributed the information to Aviad Yaffe and Shlomo Shlomo Gazit from the Defense Ministry. Alkalai also distributed the decision to the Government Press Office. The newspaper Ma'ariv also reported this on July 28. On July 30, Aviad Yaffe announced to Yael Ozai that the prime minister had authorized the publication of the committee's decision. The next day, Yafe sent a letter to Prof. Amiran in which he reported to him that the Government Names Committee had decided to accept the name "Judea and Samaria".

_______________

P.S.

I found, in a letter to the editor expressing wishes for the New Year published in Herut, October 7, 1951, the term "Judea and Samaria:

reading "and a day will yet come, and we will again break through eastward, and we'll ascend the hills and mountains, and again lights will be lit on the New Year on the hills of Judea and Samaria..."


P.P.S.  The 1946 Palestine Survey notes "Samaria" as an administrative district.

More mentions there of "Judea and Samaria" and not one of "West Bank":

There was, however, a "Western Palestine" (meaning Eastern Palestine was the other part of the same country)

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What's in the Naming of a Name

The new jointly collaborated on hasbarist effort of T'ruah and Breaking the Silence has a section called

The Ideology of Naming: What We Call A Place Matters

which reads

Because our thoughts can’t exist independent of language, the words we use to label places and activities shape how we see them. “West Bank,” perhaps the most neutral of the terms in use, simply refers geographically to the west bank of the Jordan River. The biblical name “Judea and Samaria,” which highlights the belief that God gave this land to the Jews, became an official Israeli government term in 1968, though it came into popular usage only under the 1977 Likud government. Today the settler movement and most official Israeli government publications prefer this term.

.
My reaction:

a) "West Bank" is not at all the most neutral. It is a term created in April 1950 to disguise a violation of the UN's recommended idea of creating an "Arab State" out of the Palestine Mandate. Jordan illegally entered that territory, conquered it, occupied it and then annexed it on April 24.

b) "Judea and Samaria" are not only names found in the Bible, but in the New Testament and throughout history to describe the Jewish People's historic heartland.

In fact, they're in that 1947 partition recommendation I referenced in (a) above, in the section laying out the borders: Part II Boundaries.

So, T'ruah is either lying, fudging, or they really know little of what they write.

Or all three.

They are using language to bamboozle.

Don't be.

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On A Name Change: Judea and Samaria

I, along with many others, refer to areas of the historic Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), that region which the international legal and diplomatic community in 1920 (San Remo) and 1922 (League of Nations) recognized should be reconstituted as the Jewish National Home, which lie outside the borders of sovereign Israel, as Judea and Samaria.

They were termed that even in the United Nations' partition plan.

Historical geography experts attest to the use of Judea and Samaria throughout the ages.

We all know that Palestine as the name for the country began in 135 CE by Roman occupiers.

Filastin is not even an Arabic word.

But for many, the area is either the West Bank or Palestinian Territories (see the itinerary of Prince William's upcoming visit).

The West Bank was coined only in April 1950 when Jordan, the illegal occupier, annexed the region and so called it.

Is there hope that the original genuine terms will return?

Perhaps.

Read on:

Ever since the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence in 1991, Greece has been fighting the country over its name. Today the 27-year impasse ended as two nations finally came to a resolution: The former Yugoslav republic is getting a new name, the Republic of North Macedonia.

"There is no way back," Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a press conference, Reuters reports, after he spoke with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras. "Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honorable and geographically precise — Republic of Northern Macedonia."

And the US State Department reacts:

The United States congratulates Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev and welcomes the historic agreement to resolve the name dispute. This resolution will benefit both countries and bolster regional security and prosperity. Prime Ministers Zaev and Tsipras demonstrated vision, courage, and persistence in their pursuit of a mutually acceptable solution. We also commend the commitment of UN mediator Matthew Nimetz for his steadfast efforts over more than two decades to end this dispute.We stand ready to support this agreement, as requested by the two countries.

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Samaria?

Yes, "Samaria":

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Judea and Samaria Before The Ethnic-Cleansing

In June 1967, the IDF entered and assumed the administration of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, districts of the former Palestine Mandate.

They were empty of Jews. Not one. And these areas were the heart of the Jewish national homeland. Jews had been living there.

During 1948-1967, no Jews lived in those areas because they were removed by 1948 or later, they were not permitted to reside in the area.  And they were removed in an organized ethnic-cleansing campaign between 1920-1948 led by the Mufti with notable pogroms in 1920, 1921, 1929 and then the 1936-39 period.

The area itself had been occupied by Jordan (Judea and Samaria) and by Egypt (Gaza) during the 1948 war launched by Arabs against the nascent Israel.  Most of those areas were scheduled to become part of an Arab start according to the recommendation of the United Nations in its November 29, 1947 Partition Plan.

While that plan was accepted by the Jewish community living in Mandate Palestine, the Arabs rejected it and began violent murderous hostilities the next day.

Those occupations by Jordan and Egypt were illegal and never recognized internationally.  While Gaza was under a regime of military occupation, Jordan annexed the area and attached it to its kingdom of the east of the Jordan River. It awarded the territory the name 'West Bank' in April 1950.

But to return to the Jews of those areas.  I have blogged previously about Gaza's Jews. And of Judea and Samaria and those are just two of many.

I have just read Dothan Goren's "U'Va L'Tzion Goel" which details land purchases by Jews  at the end of the Ottoman period of occupation of the Land of Israel specifically motivated by religious goals in and around Jerusalem.  Last week I referenced it to detail land purchases north of Jerusalem in close proximity to the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet.

Now I will list the most outstanding instances of land purchases up until 1914  or so in and around Jerusalem.

And let's recall: the Jewish people are the only people that were required to buy back their stolen and occupied homeland.

Area of Western Wall

Starting in the early 19th century, building and courtyards were purchased adjacent to the Kotel alleyway in the Mugrhabi Quarter by Moses Montiefiore 1828, Shmarya Luria 1833-35, the Sefardi Community Trust 1845. During his 1888 visit, Edmond Rothschild attempted to arrange for a transfer of ownership of the whole quarter as it was Waqf category. In 1908, the Odessa Geula Society tried as did David Tzvi Schneerson in 1911. In 1915 even Pasha Djemal suggested the houses near the alleyway be bought up by the Jews. Immediately after the city's conquest by England, attempts were renewed.

Outside the Old City

In 1878, the Garden of the Kings Tombs or Kalba Shua was purchased by Amalia Bertrand but in 1885, her executor Péreire, transferred ownership to the French Consulate.

The first pf several purchases adjacent to the the Cave of Shimon HaTzaddik took place in 1876.  Just west of there was founded the Nahalat Shimon neighborhood that by 1916 included 93 families and 253 persons.

Areas at the Sanhedria Tombs were purchased in 1914.

All throughout the 19th century, parts of the Mount of Olives cemetery were purchased from nearby villagers to enlarge the ancient plots to accommodate the growing Jewish population needs.

In 1840, the Meyuchas family bought land in Kfar Shiloach (Silwan) and after the arrival of Jews from Yemen in the 1880s, additional plots were obtained. It as known as the Yemenite Village and at its height, the community was home to 144 Yemenite Jewish families.

I've already blogged on the purchases near the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet north of Jerusalem.

Some pictures of that era around Jerusalem showing how sparse was the domiciles in the area:

Emek Refaim -

North of the Old City and in the upper left-hand side, the Batei Hungarim is marked 11-

Wadi Joz and environs -

In the south, the right to renovate Rachel's Tomb had to be bought.

Directly opposite the Tomb, two plots were bought by the Kalischer Family and by Nathan Strauss (of Macy's fame):

In 1875, Mordechai Yaffe bought a plot of land across from Rachel's Tomb as an envoy of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, who believed that reclaiming the land of Eretz Yisrael was the first step toward the redemption of the Jewish people...[but] the Ottomans declared it abandoned property, and the Muslim Waqf (religious trust) illegally occupied it in 1924...Nearby, the Jewish philanthropist Nathan Strauss purchased another piece of property [in 1912], which was transferred to the Jewish National Fund upon his death in 1931.

Even land in Anata was purchased through an intermediary in 1914. And earlier, Qalandia:

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How Many Revenant Residents Are There?

According to B'tselem's current web site entry, the number of Jewish Israelis residing beyond the Green Line, a category they term "settlers", is

an estimated 588,000...This figure is derived from two sources: According to data provided by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2015, 382,916 people were living in the settlements of the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem. According to data provided by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, the population of the Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem numbered 205,220 people at the end of 2014.

However, as they note, the annual population increase of that population is 4.1%.

My calculation is that increase would be around 23,500 people. Two years have passed and so 588,000 + 47,000 (23,500 x 2) = 635,000. Correct? 

Peace Now's figures are 399, 300 in Judea and Samaria at end of 2016. And in "East Jerusalem" (what do they do with Jewish neighborhoods constructed since 1967 in the north and south of the city?) live 208,410 Jews.  That totals to 607,710. We then add 23,500 and that equals 631,210. Correct?

The Yesha Council lists 421,400 Israeli residents in the area as of January 2017, but excluding post-1967 Jerusalem neighborhoods.  An average of B'tselem's figure and Peace Now's figure for Jerusalem would be 206,815 and, added to the above number, would total 628,215. We'll leave the extra population figure off.

An average of those three figures results in 631,475.

So, in another two months, we can expect the number of Jewish Israelis residing in regions of the historic Jewish homeland not as yet under full Israel sovereignty to total, in my estimation, at least 640,000.

Ken yirbu ( & tfoo-tfoo)

____________________

Now I have to figure what percentage the Jewish Israelis are of the total population.  Off my head, in Judea and Samaria, that would be 20% approximately.

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What's in a Name - A Fictional Story

The Washington Post has finally begin to semantically get with it.

In this story on the Israel government's decision to authorize a construction go-ahead, we read:

"...Oded Revivi, the foreign envoy for the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which most Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria..."

As was pointed out to me, the significance of this is the phrase: "'which most Israelis refer to". 

Thankfully, it's not couched as being "the Biblical term".

Getting close earlier was this New York Times story from February 1, 2017:

"“We are in a new era, where life in Judea and Samaria goes back to its normal and proper course,” the defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in a statement, using the biblical name for the West Bank...Shilo Adler, the head of the Yesha Council, which represents settlers in the area,"

In there is "Judea and Samaria", "Yesha" and "biblical name".  Close. Good. But could be better.

In 2009 we had read

Buying homes in the settlement of Kiryat Netafim in the northern West Bank (known in Israel as Samaria) or in Tekoa in the southern West Bank (known as Judea)...The head of the Yesha settlers council, Daniel Dayan, says the growth of West Bank Israeli population is due to rapid population increase...

Let's remember, "West Bank" is an artificial geo-political name, created in April 1950 when Jordan annexed Judea and Samaria and incorporated it in his kingdom - which he himself first entered in November 1920 - an act considered illegal.

Are Judea and Samaria legitimate terms?

In the Mandate annual reports to the League of Nations, as here, the geography of the country was described so:

...to the south are the mountains of Samaria and Judea, which in places reach heights little less than those of Galilee...

...The capital of Palestine is Jerusalem, situated in the midst of the hills of Judea, and the principal towns are Haifa, with its modern harbour, in the north at the entrance to the plain of Esdraelon; Jaffa, a second port which lies some 40 miles west- north-west of Jerusalem; Tel Aviv, which is contiguous to Jaffa; and Nablus, the ancient Sichem, in the hills of Samaria. Jerusalem has a majority of Jewish inhabitants; in Haifa the Arab and Jewish elements are approximately equal in numbers; Tel Aviv is an entirely Jewish township of 150,000 inhabitants. In Jaffa a large majority of the people are Arabs, and in Nablus, apart from a small community of Samaritans, all the people are Arabs. 

In its report for 1938, it was recorded that in June, 1938, terrorist activities continued and

there was also a marked increase in isolated murders of Jews, the majority being settlers in the Plain of Sharon and northern Galilee; in arson of Jewish crops and property; in attacks on Jewish settlements; and in shooting at police and military patrols. An Italian priest was killed by armed brigands in the Judaean foothills and a British soldier was killed and six others wounded by the explosion of a land mine on a country track in Samaria. 

The United Nations, in delineating the boundaries between the proposed partition of the Mandate territory into two states, also used the terms "Judea" and "Samaria" and not West Bank (and as pointed out to me, there really is but OneWest Bank and that has nothing to do with a "Palestine").

Jordan's "West Bank" appellation is a fiction and its annexation was an illegal act which, moreover, but one country, Great Britain, fully recognized and accepted.

Jesus did not live on the "West Bank".

It should be relegated to a side note in any reportage story.

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Just a Bit of Media Bias

Can you imagine if 26 parliamentarians from 14 different countries toured Samaria under the tutelage of Peace Now, or Breaking the Silence or B'tselem and they released a statement denouncing the Jewish communities and condemning the 'occupation' what the media response would be?

And that they released a castigating declaration against Israel's government's policies in the territories and handed it to a government minister.

Front page headline in Haaretz, I'd guess.

Large picture in Yedioth Ahronot.

Even Israel Hayom would note it.

After all, coming from the US, Australia, South Africa, Guatemala and several countries in Europe, that would be news.

But that isn't what happened.

What did happen was this, as reported in the Times of Israel:

A group of lawmakers from 14 countries visited the northern West Bank on Sunday in a show of solidarity with Israel, as the head of the settlement movement praised US President Donald Trump...
The lawmakers were in the country for the annual Israel Allies Foundation conference, which is co-sponsored by the World Jewish Congress and has for years brought Christian and Jewish pro-Israeli lawmakers from various countries to the Holy Land during Sukkot, the festival during which, according to Jewish tradition, the nations of the world ascend to Jerusalem.
Alan Clemmons, a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, told the other lawmakers that the Israel boycott movement is “financial terrorism.”
“Israel is the occupier of no one’s land other than the land that God promised to the people of Israel,” he said.

Of course, Arutz 7 in Hebrew posted it, as expected, with a video of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipy Hotovely speaking.   And here is an extract from Arutz 7 in English:

Twenty-six parliamentarians from around the world on Monday signed a statement that the Jewish people have a legal right to sovereignty over all of the land of Israel, and a statement that anti-Zionism is an expression of anti-Semitism."We want to reject all declarations that seek to negate the connection of the Jewish people to Israel and Jerusalem, as well as the misrepresentation of the State of Israel as an occupier, and to emphasize the anti-Semitic character of the misnamed 'anti-Zionism," the parliamentarians wrote."We call upon governments, institutions and leaders around the world to adopt the definition of anti-Semitism used by the US State Department and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which has been approved by many European countries and recognizes that anti-Zionism is an expression which can be used in place of anti-Semitism."We support the State of Israel and recognize the right of the Jewish people, including the rights to sovereignty and self-defense in all its lands and territory, while recognizing the need of all religions for a strong and united Israel, with Jerusalem as its eternal and united capital.

It related that MK Gila Gamliel (Likud) received the position paper from the parliamentarians.

When you read mainstream Israeli media, you are a media consumer who is defrauded. The news you receive is biased, unbalanced, unfair, non-pluralistic and lacking in the really important facts, especially on the issue of the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

I was informed, though, that Yaakov Ahimeir, host of "Seeing the World" Saturday evening news program, was present and recorded an interview.  I hope it will be aired.

I searched but didn't find reports in the foreign media as well.

You have been warned about Israel media bias.

_________

P.S.    Middle East Monitor now has a story. ^

You're Wrong and Unhelpful Yourself, Mr. Ambassador

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro spoke to a crowded ASEAN Auditorium at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts this week.

Among the things Shapiro said was this about "expanding settlements in the West Bank Judea and Samaria"

“It’s unhelpful both because it changes the map over time … but also because of the political impact and the way it suggests to Palestinians that decisions are being made before they are at the negotiating table.”

You see, Mr. Ambassador, calling the territory of regions of the historic Land of Israel as the "West Bank", a geo-political term of obfuscation created in April 1950 when the illegal occupier of Judea and Samaria, Jordan's King Abdallah I annexed that land to his kingdom, is unhelpful, an interference with the neogtiaons for a peaceful settlement, discriminatory to Jewish rights and claims as well as being unauthentic as even the United Nations 1947 Partition Plan used the terms Judea and Samaria to delineate the borders of the future two states (a compromise plan rejected by the Arabs, incidentally, and due to their subsequent aggression, the map changed).

Using "West Bank" has quite a negative impact.

It affords the Arab side an ability to claim, before they are at the negotiating table, that they have a right to all of that territory.

But I suspect you intended that.

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And The Winner Is....

And the winner of the 6th Annual International Black Jar Honey Tasting Contest which took place in Asheville, North Carolina in the United States in the category of International Multi-Floral is....

...Yael Farbstein, Israel

And where does Yael live and where is her honey produced?

Kedumin.

Her company is Dvash Kedumim.

And Kedumim is where?

That's right: Yesha, aka Judea and Samaria.

Kedumim is within easy commuting distance to all major cities in Israel:  30 minutes to Petach Tikvah, 50 minutes to Tel-Aviv, 20 minutes to Kfar Saba, 60 minutes to Haifa and Jerusalem, 40 minutes to the Jordan Valley. 

Congratulations to Yael and to the land of milk and honey.

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Wondering About NYTimes Terminology

I wondered after reading this in the New York Times:

“Altogether, we are moving on a very good vector. We are close to half a million people in Judea and Samaria,” said Shilo Adler, the head of the Yesha Council advocacy group, using biblical names for the West Bank."

if, when the NYT quotes someone who says "in the West Bank", it will add

"using the 1950 terminology of Jordan when it illegally annexed the region"

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How To Prevent a Future Amona/Migron

As I have written in the past, much of the land that Arabs, in various property claims, assert as their 'private property' seems to be actually land that was distributed by an illegal occupying power, i.e., Jordan, and they possess no real purchase proof or even tax payment receipts.

Is there a simple way to prevent such instances in the future?

Well, based on the Levy Report, I would suggest that the Military Governor issue a land registration order that would require, say, within six months, any person, Arab or Jew, who owns property in land or structures, to present evidence of such.

Is this an unfair action?

Well, according to ElkeW (kippa tip!), in the United States, there exists a system call the recording act.

This is a legal procedure by which

an individual claiming an interest in real property (real estate) formally establishes their claim to that property. The recordation of property rights becomes particularly significant where an unscrupulous dealer in land purports to sell the same tract of land multiple times. With other kinds of property, the first buyer would be the owner of the property, and later owners would have no interest in the property and would instead have a cause of action against the original seller for fraud. With real property, however, the first buyer is not necessarily the owner, depending on the kind of statute under which the recording of such property interests operates. There are three basic kinds of statutory schemes in recording acts: race, notice, and race/notice.

More:

Recording statutes protect purchasers only, not donees, heirs or devisees..."Chain of title" describes the documents (deeds, mortgages, contracts, covenants, easements, judgments, leases or liens) which can be found by searching back into the history of that particular piece of property. These recorded instruments give "constructive notice" to subsequent purchasers. Even though a prior interest is recorded, if it is not recorded in the proper chain of title, it does not give constructive notice to subsequent purchasers...

An example of how it works in practice.


Isn't that easy?  And acceptably legal?

^ 

Biblical and Modern

In the New York Times:

“In general, in Judea and Samaria,” [Major-General Gadi Shamni] said, using the biblical term for the West Bank, 

Indeed, Judea and Samaria are Biblical.

But in the United Nations' 1947 Partition recommendation, as I have noted before, one reads in the section defining borders:

The boundary of the hill country of Samaria and Judea starts on the Jordan River at the Wadi Malih south-east of Beisan and runs due west to meet the Beisan-Jericho road and then follows the western side of that road in a north-westerly direction to the junction of the boundaries of the Sub-Districts of Beisan, Nablus, and Jenin...From here the boundary runs southwestwards, including the built-up area and some of the land of the village of Kh. Lid in the Arab State to cross the Haifa-Jenin road at a point on the district boundary between Haifa and Samaria west of El- Mansi. It follows this boundary to the southernmost point of the village of El-Buteimat. From here it follows the northern and eastern boundaries of the village of Ar'ara rejoining the Haifa-Samaria district boundary at Wadi 'Ara...

Biblical in origin, yes, but very modern, too.

Oh, and  the "West Bank" is a name created by Jordan in April 1950.

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A Geography Nomenclature Lesson

First read this (h/t EOZ):

"We understood the place names Judean Desert and Samaria were not currently legally recognised"

Is that a sensible declaration? Is the British government of a EU body competent to recognize such?

Then ask yourselves why then is it not legal when even the UN employed those terms in 1947:

The boundary of the hill country of Samaria and Judea starts on the Jordan River at the Wadi Malih south-east of Beisan and runs due west to meet the Beisan-Jericho road and then follows the western side of that road in a north-westerly direction to the junction of the boundaries of the Sub-Districts of Beisan, Nablus, and Jenin. From that point it follows the Nablus-Jenin sub-District boundary westwards for a distance of about three kilometres and then turns north-westwards, passing to the east of the built-up areas of the villages of Jalbun and Faqqu'a, to the boundary of the Sub-Districts of Jenin and Beisan at a point northeast of Nuris. Thence it proceeds first northwestwards to a point due north of the built-up area of Zie'in and then westwards to the Afula-Jenin railway, thence north-westwards along the District boundary line to the point of intersection on the Hejaz railway. From here the boundary runs southwestwards, including the built-up area and some of the land of the village of Kh. Lid in the Arab State to cross the Haifa-Jenin road at a point on the district boundary between Haifa and Samaria west of El- Mansi. It follows this boundary to the southernmost point of the village of El-Buteimat. From here it follows the northern and eastern boundaries of the village of Ar'ara rejoining the Haifa-Samaria district boundary at Wadi 'Ara, and thence proceeding south-south-westwards in an approximately straight line joining up with the western boundary of Qaqun to a point east of the railway line on the eastern boundary of Qaqun village. 

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