How Israel’s West Bank security realities are reshaping the two-state debate

The Israel Defense Forces conducted astir 80 brigade-level counterterrorism operations implicit the past twelvemonth successful the West Bank — known to Israelis arsenic Judea and Samaria — neutralizing hundreds of terrorists and seizing much than 1,300 weapons, according to information released by the military.

The IDF said wide Palestinian violent enactment successful the country declined sharply successful 2025, with incidents down 78% compared to the erstwhile year. Attacks involving firearms dropped by 86%, the information showed.

Security remains indispensable successful Israel’s past heartland, location to much than 500,000 Jews and up to 3 cardinal Palestinians, and is astatine the halfway of aggravated governmental and diplomatic debate. Many Israeli officials reason that Jerusalem indispensable asseverate sovereignty implicit the territory. 

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A presumption showing the West Bank, besides known arsenic Judea and Samaria. Evangelical Christian leaders are pushing the Trump medication to admit Israel's close to the biblical heartland.  (TPS-IL)

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, brokered during the Clinton administration, the West Bank was divided into 3 areas: Area A, nether afloat Palestinian control; Area B, nether Palestinian civilian authorization and Israeli information control; and Area C, nether afloat Israeli authority.

A 2020 program by the Trump administration, known arsenic "Peace to Prosperity," envisioned Israeli annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria but was shelved successful favour of the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with 4 Arab countries. In July 2024, the Knesset plenum overwhelmingly rejected the constitution of a Palestinian state, and successful July 2025, approved a declaration calling connected the authorities to use sovereignty successful Judea and Samaria arsenic good arsenic the Jordan Valley, thing Vice President JD Vance described arsenic a "very anserine governmental stunt," erstwhile asked his thoughts connected the vote.

On a sojourn to Israel, helium said, "The West Bank is not going to beryllium annexed by Israel… The argumentation of the Trump medication is that the West Bank volition not beryllium annexed by Israel. That volition proceed to beryllium our policy. And if radical privation to instrumentality symbolic votes, they tin bash that, but we surely weren't blessed astir it."

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Why Israel Says It Can’t Give Up Judea and Samaria

A Palestinian antheral throws a chromatic astatine an Israeli equipped conveyance during a protestation successful the municipality of Beita, successful the West Bank connected July 26, 2024. ( Wahaj Bani Moufleh /Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Focusing connected the nationalist information value of the area, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, a erstwhile IDF planetary spokesperson and present a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that cardinal principles of warfare use to the area.

"High ground, oregon elevated terrain, remains captious and highly important successful defending a country, its radical and its sovereignty," Conricus said. "I cannot place immoderate credible nonrecreational subject appraisal that would suggest it is omniscient for Israel to let a hostile entity to predominate precocious terrain that controls, by enactment of show and fire, astir of modern Israel westbound of the 1949 armistice line, wherever 80% of Israel’s GDP and 70% of its colonisation reside."

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Conricus said that nary Israeli authorities could relinquish subject power implicit the country without endangering the astir basal information of the State of Israel.

He emphasized that the country defines Israel’s eastbound borderline and noted that, portion Israel presently maintains strategical bid with Jordan, the kingdom remains unstable and susceptible to some interior and outer pressures.

The Jewish colony of Har Bracha is located successful the biblical heartland of Samaria connected the West Bank.  (Eytan Schweber/TPS)

"It could beryllium jihadist elements, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas oregon the Iranian regime," helium said. "Israel has to person an eastbound borderline that is simply a earthy barrier. The Jordan River is simply a earthy obstruction that limits the question of troops, tanks and vehicles, and provides a borderline that is defensible," helium said.

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Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, pointed to the conception of defensible borders that emerged aft the 1967 Six-Day War.

"As a result, Israel gained a large antiaircraft presumption and strategical extent it had ne'er antecedently possessed," Diker said, noting that Israel had been lone 9 miles wide astatine its narrowest constituent successful the north.

After the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Diker said its strategical value has accrued amid concerns that a akin large-scale onslaught could hap there, fixed the wide travel of weapons.

"Although we power betwixt 60% and 75% of the region, Iran has been penetrating the Jordanian border," helium said, adding that Hamas incitement has energized jihadist networks.

Biblical, Historical and National Identity

Yishai Fleisher, planetary spokesperson for Hebron — the cradle of Jewish civilization located successful Judea — told Fox News Digital that the immense bulk of events described successful the Bible took spot successful Judea and Samaria.

Hebron, helium said, is location to the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, portion Jerusalem is wherever the 2 Jewish Temples stood and wherever King David reigned. In Bet El, the Biblical relationship of Jacob’s imagination of the ladder took place.

Visitors get astatine Sebastia National Park successful Samaria. Sebastia was the Israelite kingdom during the reigns of Omri and Ahab.  (Hillel Maeir/TPS-IL)

"The crushed we person nationalist aspirations successful the Land of Israel is due to the fact that of our history," Fleisher said. He besides cited an inaugural to rename Route 60 — which runs done galore Biblical cities — the "Biblical Highway."

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Earlier this month, IDF troops were dispatched to the Shavei Shomron Junction pursuing reports that dozens of masked Israeli suspects had vandalized spot successful the area. Several Palestinian vehicles were torched, and 2 Palestinians were injured. A time later, IDF troops were dispatched to the country of Jalud pursuing reports that Israeli civilians had vandalized a section school. In a abstracted incidental successful the Bizzariya area, respective Palestinian vehicles were acceptable connected occurrence and spot was damaged.

In 2025, the IDF recorded an summation of astir 27% successful anti-Palestinian crimes.

Governor of Binyamin and president of the Yesha Council Yisrael Ganz told Fox News Digital that Judea and Samaria has been successful a authorities of warfare since Oct. 7. Over the past year, helium said, citing Shin Bet data, determination were much than 4,000 attempted attacks against Israelis.

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Hilltop Youth tally for screen arsenic they clash with Israeli information forces evacuating and demolishing an amerciable outpost built adjacent the Jewish colony of Metzad eastbound of the Palestinian metropolis of Sa'ir successful the West Bank, connected Nov. 17, 2025. Israeli information forces evacuated and demolished an amerciable settler outpost successful the occupied West Bank connected Nov. 17, with the authorities citing "severe incidents of violence".  (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)

Ganz cited erstwhile Shin Bet caput Yoram Cohen, who said lone 1.5% of Shin Bet cases impact Jews, portion astir 80% absorption connected Arab terrorism.

"Yes, determination are incidents of violence, but the fig of Jews who onslaught Arabs is negligible," Ganz said, condemning extremist younker arsenic a tiny and unrepresentative minority.

Ganz argued that the lack of Israeli sovereignty creates a ineligible grey portion that enables extremism.

"When determination is governance, information and economical opportunity, determination is nary country for anarchy oregon violence," helium said, envisioning Judea and Samaria arsenic "the Israeli Tuscany."

Is the Two-State Solution Still Viable — oregon Just Diplomatic Habit?

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, told Fox News Digital that the two-state solution was ne'er viable but alternatively a diplomatic reflex.

"The Palestinians clasp the satellite grounds for a radical who person been offered a two-state solution and person rejected it," Oren said. "They rejected it successful 1937, the British connection successful 1947, the American-Israeli connection successful 2001, and the consequent connection successful 2008."

According to polls, Oren said, astir Palestinians reason a two-state solution and enactment the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Rather, the two-state solution is viewed arsenic an interim signifier toward a one-state solution," helium said, a operation often utilized arsenic a euphemism for the eventual demolition of Israel done demographic change.

Palestinian terrorists from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades look carrying their weapons during a subject parade successful the Balata exile camp, eastbound of Nablus, successful the bluish West Bank.  ((Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))

While acknowledging Palestinian self-rule successful Areas A and B, Oren said a afloat sovereign Palestinian authorities is impossible.

"It could not person power implicit its borders, nor power implicit strategical affairs, specified arsenic entering a defence pact with Iran. It volition ne'er beryllium a classical sovereign state, but it could beryllium much than what they person today," helium said.

While a two-state solution erstwhile seemed inevitable, Dan Shapiro — who served arsenic U.S. ambassador to Israel nether President Barack Obama and arsenic lawman adjunct caput of defence for the Middle East nether President Joe Biden — told Fox News Digital that it has not been viable for galore years and whitethorn present beryllium harder to envision than ever, peculiarly successful the aftermath of Oct. 7.

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Still, Shapiro said, the model remains a fixture of Middle East diplomacy owed to the deficiency of viable alternatives for resolving the struggle betwixt 2 peoples surviving successful 1 land, each with morganatic claims to a homeland.

"President Trump includes a credible pathway to a Palestinian authorities successful his 20-point program to stabilize Gaza and region Hamas from power. Presidents Biden and Trump person some viewed advancement toward a Palestinian authorities arsenic portion of the look to execute Saudi normalization with Israel," Shapiro said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to present remarks to the Knesset connected Oct. 13, 2025 successful Jerusalem. President Trump is visiting the state hours aft Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured connected Oct. 7, 2023, portion of a US-brokered ceasefire woody to extremity the warfare successful Gaza. (Photo by Kenny Holston - Pool/Getty Images)

"None of this means it tin hap soon, oregon possibly astatine all. If it ever does, it volition instrumentality longer and look antithetic from earlier efforts. It is not a copy-and-paste of ideas from the Oslo era. But that credible pathway to a Palestinian authorities — 1 that would unrecorded peacefully alongside a unafraid Israel — hard arsenic it is, remains relevant," helium added.

Shapiro noted that adjacent Israel’s existent authorities — the astir right-wing successful the country’s past and 1 that includes aggregate proponents of annexation—has stopped abbreviated of applying sovereignty crossed the West Bank, a sign, helium said, that the governmental and diplomatic costs stay excessively high.

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"President Trump has announced that it volition not hap due to the fact that helium promised Arab states — the aforesaid ones helium does concern with and relies connected to assistance stabilize Gaza — that it volition not happen, and Netanyahu volition not reason him connected it," Shapiro said.

Shapiro said that preserving the anticipation of establishing a Palestinian authorities connected immoderate information of the territory — adjacent if it appears distant and would necessitate large changes successful Palestinian enactment and nine — has remained relevant, adjacent nether Israeli governments that profess to reason immoderate two-state outcome.