Controversial West Bank Visit by US Official

The visit was part of a special program organized by the ‘American Association for Israeli Education,’ a conservative pro-Israel group led by Heather Johnston, according to an American news site. The American-Israeli Republican activist, Marc Zell, was quoted as saying that ‘the area is a legitimate property of the Jewish people,’ describing Johnston as ‘the highest-ranking American official to visit West Bank settlements.’ The site noted that the visit, which was not organized by Washington, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the American Embassy in Jerusalem, surprised Israeli officials. American Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his team did not join Johnston’s meetings on Sunday with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. It is noted that the West Bank lies at the heart of the area, extending about 100 kilometers in length and 50 kilometers in width, and has been under Israeli control since the 1967 war. Most of the world considers this area occupied territory, and the settlements there are deemed illegal under international law, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, in a decision issued in July 2024.