Judea and Samaria Area

Judea and Samaria Area (Hebrew: אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן, Ezor Yehuda VeShomron, also an acronym יו"ש Yosh or ש"י Shai; Arabic: يهودا والسامرة‎, Yahuda was-Sāmerah) is the official Israeli phrase for the territory generally referred to as the West Bank, but excluding East Jerusalem. It is officially regarded by Israeli authorities as one of its administrative regions, though not recognized as such internationally.

Terminology

The Judea and Samaria area covers a portion of the territory designated by the ancient names Judea and Samaria. Samaria corresponds to part of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, also known as the Northern Kingdom. Judea corresponds to part of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, also known as the Southern Kingdom.

After the Assyrian conquest of the Northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel in about 721 BCE, the previous inhabitants were deported and replaced by forced resettlement by other peoples, which eventually became Samaritans, at the hands of the Assyrians. As a direct consequence, a central part of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel was renamed Samaria (Shomron in Hebrew). During the Hellenistic and Roman periods the name of the former Southern Kingdom of Judah was hellenized to Judea. In modern times, Samaria was the name of one of the administrative districts of Mandatory Palestine. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted in 1947, referred to "Samaria and Judea" as part of a proposed Arab state to be carved out of the Mandate of Palestine but the boundaries of "Samaria and Judea" did not precisely coincide with the current Judea and Samaria Area.

Judea

Coordinates: 31°41′56″N 35°18′23″E / 31.69889°N 35.30639°E / 31.69889; 35.30639

Judea or Judæa (/dʒuːˈdiː.ə/; from Hebrew: יהודה‎, Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, Greek: Ἰουδαία, Ioudaía; Latin: IVDÆA, Arabic: يهودا‎, Yahudia) is the biblical, Roman, and modern name of the mountainous southern part of Palestine. The name originates from the Hebrew, Canaanite and later neo-Babylonian and Persian name "Yehudah" or "Yehud" for the biblical Israelite tribe of Judah (Yehudah) and associated Kingdom of Judah, which the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia dates from 934 until 586 BCE. The name of the region continued to be incorporated through the Babylonian conquest, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods as Yehud, Yehud Medinata, Hasmonean Judea, and consequently Herodian Judea and Roman Judea, respectively.

As a consequence of the Bar Kokhba revolt, in 135 CE the region was renamed and merged with Roman Syria to form Syria Palaestina by the victorious Roman Emperor Hadrian. A large part of Judea was included in Jordanian West Bank between 1948 to 1967 (i.e., the "West Bank" of the Kingdom of Jordan). The term Judea as a geographical term was revived by the Israeli government in the 20th century as part of the Israeli administrative district name Judea and Samaria Area for the territory generally referred to as the West Bank.

Samaria

Samaria (/sə.ˈmɛr.iː.ə/), or the Shomron (Hebrew: שֹׁמְרוֹן‎, Standard Šomron Tiberian Šōmərôn; Arabic: السامرة‎, as-Sāmirah – also known as جبال نابلس, Jibāl Nāblus) is a name for the mountainous, central region of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, based on the borders of the biblical Northern Kingdom of Israel and especially the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The name "Samaria" is derived from the ancient city of Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria). In modern times, the territory is generally and almost universally known as part of the West Bank.

Jordan ceded its claim to the area to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in November 1988. In 1994, control of Areas 'A' (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority) and 'B' (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control) were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority did not recognize the term "Samaria" within its domain.

Israel

Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35

Israel (/ˈɪzreɪəl/ or /ˈɪzriːəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a country in the Middle East, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (which are claimed by the State of Palestine and are partially controlled by Israel) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial and technology center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital (unrecognised by the United Nations) and its most populous individual city under the country's governmental administration. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally disputed.