Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara dined Monday evening with US House Speaker Mike Johnson and his wife in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
The dinner was also attended by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his wife, as well as Republican members of Congress Michael McCaul, Claudia Tenney, Michael Cloud and Nathaniel Moran. Israel Ganz, who leads the Yesha Council as well as the Binyamin Regional Council in the West Bank, was also present.
The dinner occurred as Johnson, by traveling to Ariel and Shiloh on Monday, became the most senior US official to ever visit a West Bank settlement. In past decades, leaders in both parties advocated for a two-state solution, and visits to settlements were seen as taboo.
But Netanyahu’s government has vocally rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, even as several Western countries have said in recent days that they will recognize one. Huckabee is a longtime advocate of West Bank settlements, a posture Johnson echoed on Monday.
During the visit to Ariel, Johnson said that the “mountains of Judea and Samaria” belong to the Jewish people “by right,” using the biblical name for the West Bank that is favored by Israel’s government.
“Every corner of this land is important to us. It is an integral part of our faith, and therefore the significance for us is great… We stand entirely by your side,” said Johnson, according to a statement by the municipal authority of the Ariel settlement.
According to Axios, the Republican lawmakers at the dinner came to Israel on a private, previously unannounced trip, organized by Heather Johnston, the founder of a group called the US Israel Education Association, which describes its core value as “the Judeo-Christian heritage and the historical and biblical significance of Israel.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Ganz called Johnson’s visit “a step that shows significant support for settlement and for the historical and national connection of the Jewish people to the area.” He wrote that he showed Johnson a proposal for Israel to annex the territory.
The event was also attended by Ditsa Or, mother of Avinatan Or, who was abducted by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks and remains in captivity. She met with the prime minister and his wife during the event.
Or belongs to an ideological minority among the hostage families that has pushed for their loved ones to be returned via military pressure rather than through negotiation. She has criticized military leaders for being too soft on Hamas.