Trump’s UN ambassador says Israel has ‘biblical right’ to West Bank donald trump news
President Donald Trump’s selection as United States Ambassador to the United Nations has become the latest administration nominee to express the belief that Israel has “biblical” dominance over the occupied West Bank.
Elise Stefanik’s comments came during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, where she also promised to advance Trump’s “America First” mission.
“If confirmed, I stand ready to implement President Trump’s mandate to the American people to provide strong national security leadership through America First, peace on the world stage,” he said during his opening remarks. “
If confirmed as ambassador, Stefanik reported that she would audit US funding for the United Nations and its group of agencies. It will also seek to counter China’s influence in the international organization and increase Washington’s staunch support for Israel.
But it was his views on the West Bank that signaled the biggest difference between the Trump administration and his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Stefanik was asked if she agreed with the view of far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that Israel has “biblical authority over the entire West Bank.”
“Yes,” he replied during a conversation with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
When asked if she supported self-determination for Palestinians, Stefanik dodged the question.
“I believe the Palestinian people deserve better than the failures they have received from terrorist leaders,” he said. “Of course, they deserve human rights.”
a massive change
Over the past four years, the Biden administration provided steadfast support for Israel at the United Nations. It repeatedly vetoed UN Security Council resolutions demanding a ceasefire to stop Israel’s war in Gaza.
However, the administration was willing to stand with its “ironclad” ally on the issue of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Such settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Stefanik’s comments were the latest sign that the incoming Trump administration will take a very different approach.
Trump’s first term saw an increase in settlements, with his administration removing a four-decade-long US policy that had deemed expansion in the West Bank illegal.
Upon taking office on Monday, Trump rescinded Biden-era sanctions on far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick as US ambassador to Israel, has also supported Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing Biblical justification. For example, in a 2017 interview with CNN, Huckabee argued that the Palestinian territories did not exist at all.
“There is no such thing as a West Bank. This is Judea and Samaria,” he said, using Biblical names.
And in 2008, when he was campaigning for president, Huckabee insisted that Palestinian identity itself was a fiction.
“I need to be careful saying this, because people will get really upset. There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” Huckabee, who has not yet faced a confirmation hearing, said at the time.
‘Standing with Israel’
Stefanik has long been one of Trump’s most ardent defenders in the U.S. House of Representatives.
However, in December 2023, she reached a new level of prominence with a viral interrogation of three university leaders, Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, over alleged “anti-Semitism” on campus. After this, two out of three Presidents resigned.
Critics have said that her allegations helped other university leaders suppress pro-Palestinian protests on campus for fear of public backlash.
In her opening speech at Tuesday’s confirmation hearing, Stefanik described herself as “a leader in combating anti-Semitism in higher education,” citing her 2023 talks with university presidents.
“My investigative work resulted in the most watched testimony in Congressional history,” he said. “This hearing with university presidents was heard around the world and watched billions of times.”
Responding to questions from bipartisan lawmakers, Stefanik pledged to continue and enhance the legacy of American support for Israel at the United Nations. The US is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and therefore has veto power.
He reiterated the US position that Israel has been unfairly targeted by the UN, condemning the “rot of anti-Semitism” within the organization.
The US currently pays about one-fifth of the UN’s regular budget, a regular point of irritation for Trump.
On Tuesday, Stefanik promised a “full evaluation of all UN sub-agencies” to ensure that “every dollar goes to support our US interests”.
She said she would oppose any US funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Legislation passed by the US Congress last year bans funding until March 2025 for the agency, which humanitarian groups say provides irreplaceable aid to Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.
At her hearing, Stefanik defended Israel despite criticism from UN experts that its methods in Gaza are “consistent with genocide”.
“It’s a symbol of human rights in the region,” Stefanik said of Israel.
Stefanik’s hearing came just hours after former Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, became the first member of the incoming administration to be sworn in.
