Preliminary Note - Name of the region
Etymology: The name "West Bank" is a translation from the Arabic which designates the territory situated on the western side of the Jordan River that was occupied in 1948 and annexed in 1950 by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Change of name: After occupation of the area during the Six-Day War in June 1967, a discussion commenced regarding the official name of the region. In July 1968, the Government Names Committee, with the approval of the Prime Minister, officially decided that the area would be named "Judea and Samaria."
On February 2025, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs approved the Religious Zionist KM Simcha Rothman's proposed bill to amend the official terminology by replacing the term "West Bank" with "Judea and Samaria." This legislative initiative aims to standardize the use of the term "Judea and Samaria" in all Israeli legal frameworks, ensuring consistency in official discourse and documentation rather than using alternative terms that refer to the same geographical region.
MK Simcha Rothman elaborated on the significance of the proposed change, stating: "Replacing the term 'West Bank' with 'Judea and Samaria' will serve as a clear acknowledgment by the legislator of the Jewish people's historical and legitimate right to this land, while also correcting a longstanding historical distortion. It is imperative that we refrain from using terminology that aligns with the enemy's agenda and perpetuates a false narrative. For this reason, the impact of this change is profound.
Personal note: I generally use the term "West Bank," except when the official name of an entity includes the phrase "Judea and Samaria."
Local Government
The Yesha Council: Serves as the umbrella organization for all local authorities in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.
Mayors: Ariel; Beitar Illit; Modi'in Illit; Ma'ale Adumim.
Heads of Regional Councils: Gush Etzion; Mount Hebron; Dead Sea Scrolls (Megilot); Binyamin; Jordan Valley; Shomron.
Heads of Local Councils: The 13 Local council leaders oversee municipal and settlement governance in smaller communities throughout the region.
In municipal elections in Israel, the residents of the cities and local councils vote for the chairperson of the local authority (mayor or municipality chairpersons), as well as for members of the city councils or the local councils. In the municipal elections due to be held in October 2023, seven women were set to run for these posts in the West Bank.
Ravshatsim – Local Community Security Chiefs (Military Security Coordinators – MSCs): See separate section.
Rabbis
Senior rabbis serve in various capacities – including overseeing regional councils, individual settlements, and major central yeshivas.
Settlement Movements
Amana ("Covenant"): Founded by Gush Emunim in 1976, Amana's primary goal has been to develop communities in the West Bank, the Golan Heights, the Galilee, the Negev, and Gush Katif. Head: Ze'ev ("Zambish") Hever.
Nachala: A radical Israeli settler organization that supports young settlers and establishes new Israeli outposts in the West Bank. Their goal is for Israel to annex both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Director: Daniella Weiss.
Hashomer Hachadash ("The New Guard"): A Zionist volunteer-based organization dedicated to protecting the Land of Israel and strengthening the connection between Israeli society and Jewish heritage. HaShomer engages diverse sectors of the Jewish and Israeli communities through agriculture and security-focused volunteering. With over 120,000 volunteers annually, HaShomer promotes values such as civil courage, mutual responsibility, and love for the land. It provides farm owners with support, including: Volunteers who assist with night patrols and agricultural labor; Domestic help for farm operations; Training in spoken Arabic, self-defense, and tracking to help farmers protect their property from theft.
Farms – Individual – Shepherds
Unlike conventional settlements, "farms of individuals" are established and managed by single individuals, families, or small groups of settlers over large areas. In the West Bank, these farms, often called "shepherds' farms" (see separate section), are private initiatives led by army graduates who invest personal resources to purchase livestock and establish a presence that limits Palestinian activity in these territories. While the farms often operate with grazing permits from the Ministry of Agriculture or the Civil Administration, the structures erected on their land are frequently unauthorized.
Hilltop Youth
See separate section.
The Jewish Voice (HaKol HaYehudi) News Site
An Israeli news platform. Originally founded as a weekly newspaper in 2009 by Yitzhar residents, it is an independent media organization funded by public donations and founded by a group of followers of Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg. According to the website of Yeshiva Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in Yitzhar, "HaKol HaYehudi was founded by several graduates of the yeshiva, with the aim of changing and influencing public discourse and the media in Israel." The editors and founders of the website are Elchanan Groner and Yehuda Pearl. Groner explained that " HaKol HaYehudi started as a leaflet distributed in the Hills. Later, we had a website with four articles a week and it grew. In 2018, we decided to focus on investigations, and that's where we burst into consciousness."
Central Government, Administration, and Knesset Promoters
Bezalel Smotrich: Born: 1980. Leader of the National Religious Party – Religious Zionism; Minister of Finance (since 2022).
The Finance Ministry is Israel's main economic body, responsible for shaping and executing government financial policy, setting fiscal targets, preparing the state budget, and overseeing its implementation.
In February 2023, Smotrich was also entrusted with significant administrative responsibilities in the West Bank. His role includes developing settlements and integrating their administration with that of Israeli territory.
Hillel Roth: Appointed by Smotrich as deputy in the Civil Administration, responsible for enforcing building regulations in settlements and outposts. Roth, a former resident of Yitzhar, previously worked with Bnei Akiva – affiliated with the Religious Zionist Party – as vice CEO.
The Civil Administration: Israel's governing body in the West Bank, established in 1981 to handle bureaucratic functions in territories captured in 1967. Although formally distinct, it operates under the Israeli military.
Orit Malka Strook: Born: 1960. Minister of Settlements and National Missions (37th government), KM (National Religious Party – Religious Zionism).
Strook was a leading figure in Jewish settlement in Hebron and founded the Human Rights Organization of the West Bank, which she led from 2004 to 2012.
As Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Strook oversees core settlement policies in Israel and other functions related to settlement expansion.
The Division for Planning and Control (Settlement Division): Established by government decision in 2016, it supports settlement activities through: Policy coordination; Supervision and control; Liaison between the Settlement Division and government ministries. The division currently operates under Minister Strook's office.
The Knesset: Israel's unicameral legislature.
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee: A permanent Knesset committee overseeing key foreign and defense matters, including: Legislation; Oversight of relevant ministries; Budget approvals.
Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria and the Seam Zone: Previously led by Zvi Yedidia Sukkot (born 1990), a Religious Zionist Party activist and former Executive Director of Otzma Yehudit.
Avihai Avraham Boaron: Born: 1973. Settler activist and KM (Likud, since July 2024).
Intertwined Forces: Leadership and Power in the West Bank
There are two primary forces shaping the West Bank: bottom-up grassroots movements and top-down central government policies.
The center-periphery dynamic – the relationship between dominant political hubs and outlying settlements – can be either collaborative or competitive. When aligned, they can establish a powerful and effective strategy.
Shared Ideological Foundations: Settlement expansion is driven by religious, political, and ideological motivations. They believe in Greater Israel, referring to the historic or desired borders of Israel.
Settlers view their presence in the area as part of the historical vision of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, deeply rooted in biblical commandments and messianic redemption.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook ("HaRaAYaH") was a foundational figure in the Religious Zionist Movement, which believes that the redemption of the Land of Israel and the establishment of the State of Israel will usher in the Jewish Messiah. In numerous references, he called his time Atchalta De'Geulah/
His son, Zvi Yehuda Kook, was a leading spiritual force behind the Israeli settlement movement.
Minister Orit Strook articulated this vision (July 2023): "We are privileged to be public emissaries in a generation of redemption... My role as Minister of Settlement allows me to correct the Sin of the Spies [who lacked faith in God's vision] by strengthening settlement and building the land... We are blessed to have been born in this generation of the time of Atchalta De'Geulah, and to take an active part in the miracles of the Return to Zion; the Gathering of Exiles; the first rays of light (ayelet ha'shachar) glimmering over the skies – "at first little by little, but as it progresses it grows greater and greater."
In his Israel's Decisive Plan, then-MK Bezalel Smotrich, an attorney who served as vice-chairman of the Knesset (on behalf of the Ha-Ihud Hale'umi party within the Jewish Home Party), declared: "I am a believer. I believe in the Holy One, Blessed Be He; in His love for the Jewish People, and His Providence over them. I believe in the Torah which foretold the exile and promised redemption. I believe in the words of the prophets who witnessed the destruction, and no less in the renewed building that has taken shape before our eyes. I believe that the State of Israel is the beginning of our unfolding redemption, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Torah and the visions of the Prophets."
Security Forces
Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
Central Command: A regional military command responsible for operations in the West Bank; Jerusalem; The Sharon region; Gush Dan; The Shephelah.
The 877th Judea and Samaria Division: Oversees Israeli military activity in the region.
Territorial Brigades: Provide logistical infrastructure and security in the West Bank: Jordan Valley Brigade; Menashe Brigade; Ephraim Brigade; Samaria Brigade; Binyamin Brigade: Etzion Brigade; Judea Brigade.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories
A unit in the Ministry of Defense, tasked with overseeing civilian policy in the West Bank. It operates in collaboration with Israeli governmental and defense officials and is led by a major general who is part of the general staff of the IDF.
Israel Police – Judea and Samaria District
Responsible for law enforcement from the Hebron Mountains to Megiddo Junction.
The Central Unit: handles intelligence and serious crime investigations.
Border Guard – Judea and Samaria Region
Manages Border Guard operations in the territories.
Israel Security Agency (ISA / Shin Bet)
Oversees internal security.
The Jewish Department: monitors extremist activities within the West Bank, focusing on violent extremism and vigilante terrorism, directed against the state and the democratic regime, and originating in the West Bank or elsewhere.