US speaker Mike Johnson visits Ariel settlement as violence against Palestinians soars
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson visited an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Monday, just weeks after the Israeli Knesset passed a resolution supporting the annexation of the region amid an escalation in state and settler violence towards the Palestinians.
Johnson’s visit to the settlement of Ariel, near Ramallah, was part of a private trip to Israel organised by the pro-Israel advocacy group, the US Israel Education Association, according to Axios, which cited Israeli officials.
His visit makes him the most senior US politician to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Settlements are illegal under international law.
During Johnson’s visit to Ariel, The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying, “Judea and Samaria are the front lines of the state of Israel and must remain an integral part of it.” Johnson used a biblical name for the West Bank and reportedly said he would work to promote the use of the term "Judea and Samaria" at the federal level.
Johnson’s visit comes as two million people are facing starvation in the Gaza Strip under Israel’s control. After partially lifting a devastating blockade, Israel is now allowing a minimal amount of food, medicine, water, and fuel into the enclave.
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Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people have been killed while seeking aid at the controversial Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) distribution sites, according to the United Nations. Axios reported that Johnson and his delegation were expected to visit GHF distribution centres in Gaza.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned Johnson’s “inflammatory” comments endorsing annexation as a “blatant violation of international law” on Monday.
The ministry also characterised his statements as “provocative incitement that encourages settler crimes and land confiscation”, saying his visit undermines Arab and US efforts to stop the war.
In a statement on X, it said the speaker’s stance is an “encouragement of settler crimes, settlers' actions, and the confiscation of Palestinian lands, in clear contradiction with the declared US position regarding settlements and settlers' attacks”.
Reaffirming that “all settlement activity is illegal”, the ministry said that Israel’s settlement expansion “destroys any remaining chance for a two-state solution” and peace.
Johnson’s trip was hailed as evidence of “unwavering support and moral clarity in standing with Israel against its enemies” in a post on X by Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz.
The US State Department referred Middle East Eye to Johnson's office for comment on the US's position on Israeli settlement building and expansion.
Johnson's office had not provided comment by the time of publication.
Support for settlement expansion
Johnson is visiting Israel with fellow Republican representatives Michael McCaul, Nathaniel Moran, Michael Cloud, and Claudia Tenney.
Tenney introduced in January the "Recognizing Judea and Samaria Act" to require that all official US documents and materials use the terms "Judea and Samaria" instead of the "West Bank". She also founded the Friends of Judea and Samaria caucus.
The caucus is a group of Congress members “committed to raising awareness and support for the historical, strategic, and cultural importance of Judea and Samaria”, according to a statement on Tenney's website.
Settlers have long harboured ambitions of emptying the occupied West Bank of its Palestinian population. For years, this aspiration was broadly understood, even among settlers themselves, as an unattainable fantasy.
However, the near-total destruction of Gaza and the growing perception that the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip has, at least semi-explicitly, become one of the war aims of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have emboldened settler groups to believe that such a scenario might now be possible.
Ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank would, however, present far greater logistical and political challenges than in Gaza. Unlike Gaza, it features a more intertwined population of Palestinians and settlers.
Some of the methods currently employed by the Israeli military in Gaza appear to be gradually making their way to the occupied West Bank, albeit on a smaller scale.
In recent months, large sections of the Tulkarm and Jenin refugee camps, along with other areas, have been bulldozed, and hundreds of homes have been demolished by Israeli forces. The images emerging from these sites increasingly resemble those coming out of Gaza.
Even if the occupied West Bank is not yet experiencing a full replication of the Gaza campaign, what is unfolding may well be seen as preparation for a more extensive effort by settler militias and their backers in government to “clear” key areas of Palestinians, critics say.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem and the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs documented more than 1,200 incidents of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in 2024 alone, an average of three attacks per day, according to a UN report published in December 2024.
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