MINSK, BELARUS (Worthy News) – Iran and Belarus signed a wide-ranging package of agreements Wednesday aimed at boosting cooperation in defense, industry, and trade while presenting a united front against Western sanctions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, where the two leaders finalized 13 agreements covering areas such as science, tourism, education, and military-technical collaboration.

Mr. Lukashenko described his Iranian counterpart as a “friend” and pledged Belarus would assist Tehran with food supplies, industrial partnerships, and defense initiatives. “We are ready to cooperate with you on all issues,” he said.

Mr. Pezeshkian called Western sanctions “illegal” and said Iran would share decades of experience in evading restrictions to help Belarus “neutralize” similar measures. He also emphasized joint participation in blocs such as BRICS and the Eurasian Economic Union, accusing the United States and European nations of trying to impose “unilateralism.”

Both countries face mounting isolation: Belarus for its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Iran for its nuclear program and weapons shipments to Moscow. Minsk has allowed Russian troops and tactical nuclear weapons on its soil, while Tehran has supplied Russia with its Shahed drones.

The agreements stop short of a formal defense treaty but mark another step in Iran’s steady alignment with Russia and its allies.

 (Worthy News) – A cell of at least 18 Hamas operatives attempted to raid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) encampment in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza on Wednesday morning, in what the military described as a rare and unusual incident.

According to an IDF probe, the gunmen emerged from a tunnel at around 9 a.m.. They launched a coordinated assault on the outpost using machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and anti-tank weapons. Three Israeli soldiers from the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion were wounded in the fighting, one of them seriously.

Gun Battle Inside the Encampment

The IDF said several of the attackers breached the encampment perimeter and exchanged fire with troops at close range. At least 10 of the operatives were killed in a combination of ground fire and Israeli airstrikes, while eight others managed to retreat back into the tunnel system.

Footage released by the army showed targeted airstrikes during the raid. Additional video circulating online depicted a tank from the 74th Armored Battalion ramming into an RPG-wielding operative inside the camp.

The military confirmed it is continuing to pursue the remaining attackers.

Hamas Claims Responsibility

Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility, boasting that its gunmen “stormed the site” and carried out a suicide bombing. The group claimed to have destroyed tanks, struck buildings used by IDF soldiers, and killed multiple troops in close-range combat.

The IDF, however, reported no fatalities among its soldiers and said Hamas’s statements were exaggerated, consistent with previous claims during the nearly two-year war.

Attempts to Kidnap Soldiers

Military officials assessed that the cell sought to kidnap Israeli troops during the raid. “The fact that terrorists reached point-blank encounters with tanks and infantry indicates serious vulnerabilities in the defense array,” one officer familiar with the sector told Walla News. “The last time we saw a tank run over terrorists was October 7. That means a lot.”

Larger Offensive Looming

The assault comes as Israel prepares for a large-scale ground offensive into Gaza City. Defense officials have expressed concern that Hamas will continue to exploit weaknesses in IDF field deployments until broader maneuver operations begin.

The Khan Younis raid is the second large infiltration attempt in recent weeks. Last month, a cell of at least 12 Hamas operatives attempted an attack on an IDF logistics road in the same region.

Despite Hamas claims that Wednesday’s battle “lasted for several hours,” the IDF said the incident was contained in under an hour.

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – On the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act last week, President Donald J. Trump declared his administration’s sweeping effort to “Make Social Security Great Again,” celebrating both his new tax relief for seniors and an unprecedented fraud cleanup inside the system.

The President highlighted his signature “One Big Beautiful Bill”, which delivers a temporary senior tax deduction eliminating federal taxes on Social Security benefits for most recipients aged 65 and above between 2025 and 2028.

Trump also touted aggressive actions against fraud, including removing 275,000 illegal aliens from the Social Security system and clearing 12.4 million names of people recorded as over 120 years old. He emphasized that many of these phantom records were tied to improper payments.

Beyond the fraud purge, the administration credited the Social Security Administration (SSA) with a major customer service overhaul: faster call handling, shorter wait times, fully staffed field offices, and 24/7 online access. Backlogs are down, billions in waste have been identified, and technology upgrades are underway to prevent future fraud.

White House officials contrasted Trump’s record with Democrats, saying the President has delivered on his campaign promise to preserve, protect, and strengthen Social Security for the 72 million Americans who depend on it.

WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for unwavering U.S. and European support as Russia intensified deadly strikes on multiple Ukrainian cities ahead of high-stakes talks in Washington with President Donald J. Trump and other world leaders.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces were deliberately targeting civilians even as diplomatic efforts to end the war unfolded. “Russians are deliberately killing people, particularly children. As of now, seven people have been killed in Kharkiv, the youngest a girl just a year and a half old. In Zaporizhzhia, missile strikes injured 20 and killed three. And in Odesa, there was a deliberate strike on an energy facility owned by an Azerbaijani company,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader stressed the timing was no coincidence. “They are aware that a meeting is taking place today to address the end of the war. Along with Ukraine, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union, and NATO will participate. Everyone seeks dignified peace and true security.”

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Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of Western unity amid concerns that Washington could strike a deal with Moscow without Kyiv’s involvement. “It is very important that you are with us. And that we speak to America and that we speak together. And it is important that Washington is with us,” he said.

He also issued a stark warning about Russia’s intentions. “Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is why reliable security guarantees are required. The war must be ended. And it is Moscow that must hear the word: Stop.”

HUNGARY-UKRAINE CLASH

The diplomatic backdrop grew more complicated as Hungary and Ukraine exchanged sharp words over energy security.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, accused Kyiv of striking a Russian oil pipeline supplying Hungary, calling the attack “outrageous and unacceptable.” He warned that electricity from Hungary plays a vital role in powering Ukraine.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha quickly fired back on social media, telling Szijjártó to take his complaints to Moscow. “Peter, it is Russia, not Ukraine, who began this war and refuses to end it,” he wrote.

“Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia. You can now send your complaints — and threats — to your friends in Moscow,” the minister added.

The bitter exchange underscores the divisions within Europe as Washington hosts what could be pivotal talks on how to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.

Trump was due to meet with Zelenskyy and key European allies to discuss security guarantees and possible paths toward peace, though Kyiv remains wary of any arrangement made without its direct involvement.

WASHINGTON / CAIRO / JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the only path to securing the release of hostages held in Gaza is through the complete defeat of Hamas, even as Arab mediators reported progress on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal.

Speaking on his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that hostages would not be freed until Hamas was destroyed. He added that he had previously negotiated the release of “hundreds” of hostages, while also highlighting his claimed record of halting six global conflicts in six months and striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. He urged Israel to take a hard line, warning that nations must “play to win, or don’t play at all.”

At the same time, reports from Qatari broadcaster Al-Araby TV indicated that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire-hostage release proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar. The plan would see an immediate 60-day truce, with Hamas releasing 10 living hostages and 15 bodies in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Negotiations are being led by Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, with participation from multiple Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Mediators described the latest round of talks as showing a “heightened sense of responsibility and determination to end the war.”

The deal envisions a phased process: initial releases during the truce, followed by negotiations for a broader agreement aimed at ending the war entirely.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded cautiously, saying Hamas was under “immense pressure” as the Israel Defense Forces prepared to launch a full assault on Gaza City. Meeting with IDF generals near the Gaza border, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s conditions remain unchanged: all hostages must be released at once, Hamas must disarm, Gaza must be demilitarized, and control of the Strip must pass to an authority other than the Palestinian Authority.

Although Hebrew media suggested Netanyahu might privately consider partial arrangements, Israeli officials reiterated on Monday that Jerusalem’s position has not shifted.

Palestinian sources said Hamas accepted the proposal under significant Egyptian pressure and amid mounting unrest inside Gaza, where residents have voiced frustration with the group’s leadership. Calls for a “million-man march” against Hamas leadership reportedly added to the pressure to soften demands.

Still, some analysts warn that compliance remains uncertain, as factions within Hamas’s military wing may resist elements of the agreement.

  “Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth, because the garden will be theirs, they will fight in the way of Allah and will kill and be killed. It is a promise that is binding on him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. Who fulfills his covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)

The Torah and the Gospel actually do not promise paradise to those who fight in the way of God and kill and are killed. That idea is in the Qur’an only.

Even after this, however, no law enforcement or intelligence officials will dare to consider the possibility that the Qur’an itself is the source of “radicalization.”

New Orleans ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar had bomb-making station and Quran open to chilling passage in his home, new photos reveal,” by Jennie Taer, Chris Nesi and Alex Oliveira, New York Post, January 2, 2025:

HOUSTON – ISIS-inspired New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar kept a bomb-making workbench in his ramshackle Texas trailer home — where a Quran was left open on a page about “slaying” in the name of Allah, exclusive photos obtained by The Post show.
Jabbar’s north Houston home was filled with chemical residue and chemical bottles, while an inventory of items seized by the FBI — left behind by investigators who raided his house on Wednesday — included a long list of compounds used in bomb-making.
His Quran was propped atop a bookshelf, a centerpiece in his living room, and open to a passage reading, “they fight in Allah’s cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding…”
That passage, Verse 9:111, expounds on Muslims’ responsibility to kill Allah’s enemies, and to be willing to die for that mission in return for eternity in paradise.
Numerous books about Islam were also on the shelf and around the squalid home, while a prayer rug was rolled up nearby.
FBI officials on Thursday said Jabbar posted five disturbing videos on Facebook on his drive from Houston to New Orleans just hours before he unleashed carnage on Bourbon Street, leaving 14 innocent pedestrians dead.
In the first disturbing video — posted at 1:29 a.m. — the US Army veteran said he had initially planned on murdering his family and friends, but changed his mind over concerns that the resulting media coverage wouldn’t focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers,” FBI counterterrorism official Chris Raia said.
In other videos, he said he had joined ISIS “before this summer” and showed off his last will and testament.
Investigators confirmed that Jabbar, 42, was ideologically aligned with ISIS and that he specifically chose Bourbon Street as the target of his monstrous act of terror.
However, they have yet to piece together what precisely brought about his radicalization….
The FBI revealed that Jabbar acted alone in the attack after poring over his social media accounts, conducting “hundreds” of interviews with witnesses and searching three cellphones and two laptops recovered from an Airbnb on Mandeville Street in New Orleans linked to the terror suspect….

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – Rights activists say local authorities in Indonesia’s West Java province have shut down a Christian prayer house and evicted its evangelist leader, underscoring broader concerns about religious freedom in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

On August 2, officials in Purbayani Village of Caringin District, Garut Regency, permanently closed the Immanuel Prayer House, an outpost of Bethel Tabernacle Church (GBT), confirmed advocacy group International Christian Concern.

Evangelist Dani Natanael Gunawan and his school-aged son were subsequently forced to leave the area, leaving about 100 Christians without a local worship site, according to Christians familiar with the situation. Christians said that many now must travel up to 60 miles (96 kilometers) to attend services.

The eviction followed a statement Gunawan signed with local authorities and police, said Tantowi Anwari of the Task Force on Freedom of Religion and Belief (KBB).

Ucu Cintarsih, coordinator of the religious freedom–promoting Interfaith Network, condemned the action, saying, “Restricting the right to worship to avoid conflict [with Muslims] condones discrimination and increases the trend of intolerance in society.”

BROADER PATTERN

The Garut closure reflects a broader pattern, Christian leaders told Worthy News.

“That village is indeed not allowed to have Christians. The church there has been burned down seven times. When I went there, they worshipped underground in the forests and people’s homes. Many Christians there are ex-Muslims. That area of and around Garut is indeed where you find radical Islam,” said the leader of a large underground Christian movement of ex-Muslims. Worthy News did not publish his name amid security concerns.

On June 27, a mob stormed a house in Tangkil Village of Sukabumi Regency, West Java, where Christian youth had gathered for a retreat. Windows were smashed, furniture destroyed, and a motorbike hurled into a river.

Authorities said they later arrested seven suspects and compensated the homeowner. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi pledged to oversee the legal process personally and ensure it is “objective and thorough.”

Earlier in March, construction of a GKJW church in Kediri, East Java, reportedly stalled amid local opposition.

Separately, the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace recorded 402 violations in 2024 involving church closures, vandalism, and mob violence — up from 329 the previous year — with West Java ranking highest among provinces.

CHRISTIAN MINORITY

Indonesia, home to more than 270 million people, ranks 42nd on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where investigators say Christians face the most severe persecution.

While not among the most repressive nations, the country’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom contrasts sharply with reported repeated restrictions and intimidation on the ground, Open Doors noted.

Earlier this month, the Catholic Bishops of Indonesia joined other church leaders in urging the central government in Jakarta to clamp down on “religious rights violations” and hold perpetrators accountable, especially in cases involving violence.

Roughly 28–30 million Indonesians, or about 10 percent of the population, identify as Christian — including around 7 percent Protestants (among them evangelicals) and 3 percent Catholics.

Pentecostal church leaders told Worthy News the actual number may be higher, as many Muslims are reportedly turning to Christianity despite opposition.

MOB AGGRESSION

Advocates warn that continued church closures, mob aggression, and bureaucratic obstacles threaten the “fragile harmony among Indonesia’s diverse religious communities” and demand a stronger national response.

They also fear a new criminal code, passed in 2023 and set to take effect in 2026, will expand blasphemy provisions and penalize apostasy, the act of leaving one religion or faith for another

Human rights groups say the legislation risks deepening “systemic repression of religious minorities,” noting that several Indonesians have already been fined or jailed for “blasphemy” in recent years.

Sources linked to the movement told Worthy News that Muslims who have converted to Christianity are increasingly forced to worship underground amid mounting hostility in several Indonesian regions.

ASMARA, ERITREA (Worthy News) – Christian advocacy groups are intensifying calls for Eritrea to release seven church leaders who have been held without trial for more than two decades.

The men are reportedly confined at the Wengel Mermera Criminal Investigation Centre, a maximum-security facility in the capital, Asmara, described by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as one of Eritrea’s “atrocious” prisons.

Among those detained since November 2004 are Orthodox priests Gebremedhin Gebregiorgis, Futsum Gebrenegus, and Tekleab Menghisteab, who were active in a renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Despite belonging to one of only four state-recognized faiths, the priests faced harassment under President Isaias Afwerki, who has ruled since independence in 1993, Christians said.

The prolonged detentions have devastated families. Gebrenegus lost both his wife and father while imprisoned. Gebregiorgis’ wife, Tsegeweyni Mekonnen Haile, died of cancer in June 2022, leaving behind her husband and their three children.

Menghisteab, a respected physician at St. Mary Psychiatric Hospital in Asmara at the time of his arrest, saw his wife and three daughters flee Eritrea for their safety.

PASTORS TARGETED

Also imprisoned since 2004 are Pastors Haile Naizge, then chairman of the Full Gospel Church, and Kuflu Gebremeskel, then chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance and a visiting university lecturer.

Naizge’s mother was seriously ill at the time of his arrest and died without being allowed to see her son again.

His wife, Rahel, and their three children were eventually forced to flee and found refuge in North America. Gebremeskel, last seen during guarded hospital visits in 2021, is believed to remain incommunicado at Wengel Mermera.

Another detainee, Pastor Million Gebreselassie—also known as Merond—was arrested in June 2004 while serving as an anesthetist and church leader in the port city of Massawa. Christians said he was initially held at a local police station and later transferred to Wengel Mermera.

In 2005, the Rev. Kidane Weldou, a senior pastor in Asmara and member of Gideons International, a group dedicated to distributing Bibles and New Testaments, was forcibly disappeared on the streets of the capital. Weldou, a married father of four daughters, has not been seen publicly since.

He is widely believed to be among those held at Wengel Mermera.

GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

As details of their detention emerged, Christian groups announced global protests and prayer events around Friday’s International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), a coalition of Christian organizations in 20 nations, said its first worldwide campaign under the hashtag #Voices4Justice is uniting churches and individuals across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania to pray and call for the leaders’ release.

Events include a rally on Thursday in Washington, D.C., led by 21Wilberforce, Set My People Free, and Christian Freedom International. Beginning at 11 a.m. local time at the Dupont Circle Fountain, participants will march to the Eritrean Embassy to pray and urge the leaders’ release.

Also on Thursday, Christian Solidarity Worldwide scheduled a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean Embassy in London, while in Brazil, the MAIS group plans an online prayer event.

HMK Switzerland (Hilfe für Mensch und Kirche) organized a peaceful protest outside the Eritrean Embassy in Geneva on Friday. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka will host an online prayer event in Colombo, while additional online gatherings are set in Nigeria by CSW Nigeria and in Texas by Freedom Seekers International.

Open Doors is mounting advocacy campaigns in France, Italy, Denmark, Canada, and Sweden. Additional efforts are planned by Set My People Free in Sweden, Voice of the Martyrs Canada and Poland, International Christian Response (ICR), and others in the United States.

RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGION

Eritrea recognizes only four religious groups: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea.

All other groups must register, but no new registrations have been approved since 2002, according to the U.S. State Department.

About 51 percent of Eritrea’s 6.3 million people identify as Sunni Muslims, 41 percent as Orthodox Christians, and 5 percent as Roman Catholics.

The remaining population includes Protestants, other Christians, Baha’is, Shi’a Muslims, traditional religion adherents, atheists, and unaffiliated groups, USCIRF noted.

Christian leaders warn that the ongoing imprisonment of these seven men underscores Eritrea’s broader crackdown on religious freedom and the urgent need for international pressure.

Eritrea ranks sixth on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations where Open Doors says Christians face the most severe persecution, just behind North Korea, followed by Somalia (2), Yemen (3), Libya (4), and Sudan (5).

(Worthy Insights) – A Maryland pastor is back home with his family after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and transported to a Louisiana facility where he was held for nearly a month. Despite the hardships he endured in jail, he reports that God used the time to allow him to reach many souls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Family spokesman Len Foxwell confirms that Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal was recently released on bond and has returned to Easton, MD. “This is the best social media post I’ve ever had the privilege to write: Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal is home,” Foxwell said on Facebook.

“His daughter, Clarissa, flew to Louisiana yesterday, picked him up and brought him back to the great State of Maryland,” he said. “Obviously, there remains work to be done. Let it be said, however, that Pastor Fuentes Espinal and his family are together again for the first time since that terrible morning of July 21.”

. (Worthy Insights) – Months after the U.S. Department of Education rescinded its historic fine against Grand Canyon University (GCU), a Christian college in Phoenix, Arizona, the school has scored another major victory: a separate lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was also dropped.

The FTC sued GCU in late 2023, alleging the school deceived students about costs associated with doctoral studies and had engaged in what it saw as illegal telemarketing practices. At the time, the FTC said the “university, its marketer, and its CEO deceptively advertised the cost and course requirements of its doctoral programs and its nonprofit status, and made illegal calls to consumers.”

That lawsuit, which originated just months after the Department of Education levied its own defunct fine, is now officially suspended.

 China (International Christian Concern)  –  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government is rewriting portions of the Bible in an effort to increase its control over religion in country, according to U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI).  In a meeting of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Rep. Gallagher stated that Chairman Xi Jinping is on a “quest to make the faithful serve the party rather than God.”

Rep. Gallagher referenced a statement from Chairman Xi during the 19th Party Congress in 2017 that declares the intent to pursue “the Sinicization of Chinese religions and provide active guidance for religion and socialism to coexist.” Besides attempting to control Christian doctrine and practice, the CCP is persecuting other Buddhist and Muslim ethnic minorities, according to Rep. Gallagher.

The CCP sees itself as possessing absolute authority over religion in China. For example, in 2018, the Vatican compromised with the CCP on the prerogative to appoint Roman Catholic clergy in China. Multiple sources have warned that the CCP aims to select the next Dalai Lama—the supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Thus, the CCP forcing the church to be subservient to the state infringes the Western conception of religious liberty, which is founded on the Christian understanding of the church and the state as distinct institutions ordained by God.

Rep. Gallagher cited two cases of the CCP rewriting portions of the Bible. The first from the account in the Gospel of John of Jesus telling the woman caught in adultery to “go, and from now on sin no more,” after telling the scribes and Pharisees, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:3-11, ESV).” A textbook from a Chinese university appeared in 2020 with the account from the Gospel of John rewritten to end with “Jesus himself stoning the adulterous woman to death,” according to Rep. Gallagher.

The second is a report that CCP authorities in Henan province “forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping quotes,” changing the first commandment from, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” (Exodus 20:3, KJV) to, “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”

Two Christian pastors at the Congressional meeting testified on persecution in China, noting that many Chinese pastors and Christians are undeterred. International Christian Concern (ICC) recently published a report describing the growth of the underground church in Iran, where government repression seems to cause the church to grow rather than stifle it.  As the early church father Tertullian wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

In 135 A.D., following the suppression of the revolt by the Maccabees, the Roman overlords of what was then called Judaea decided to change its name to “Syria Palaestina” — “Syria of the Philistines” — which was then shortened to “Palestine.” The Romans wanted to efface, through a change of toponym, the connection of the Jews to the land that was made obvious in the place name “Judaea.” They also attempted to change the name “Jerusalem” to “Aelia Capitolina” but, unlike “Palestine,” that place name never caught on.

During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the Arab Legion of Jordan — led by British officers under John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) — managed to seize and hold onto the territory that had been known, for more than 3,000 years, not just to the Jewish people but to everyone in the Western world, as “Judea and Samaria.” It would never do, the Jordanian Arabs believed, to continue to use the toponyms “Judea and Samaria,” which would remind people of who had inhabited that territory for millennia. So, like the Romans with their toponymic change — “Judaea” becoming “Palestine” — nearly 1800 years before, the Jordanians, after a year of reflection (the war officially ended in 1949), in 1950 decided to replace “Judea and Samaria” with the place name “West Bank.” It is a most peculiar appellation. After all, the riparian zone along a river is usually envisioned as of a uniform width, but the Jordanians’ “West Bank” is shaped like an ear. The Jordanians, and their fellow Arabs, by dint of repetition, made sure that “West Bank” was used so often, came more trippingly off the tongue than “Judea and Samaria” (it helped that people were uncertain whether “Judea and Samaria” were two distinct places, inked by a conjunction, or constituted one territory) and stuck so well in the popular mind, that it pushed “Judea and Samaria” out of common usage, save by the Israelis themselves. Even non-Israeli Jews now use the term “West Bank.”

People outside of Israel, including orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians, who persisted in using “Judea and Samaria,” found that “West Bank” had become so widely adopted that it was they who experienced a certain self-consciousness about using “Judea and Samaria.” “West Bank” is now used everywhere; it is up to us to undo that offense to history. When the Western media reports on Israelis, especially on those much-maligned “settlers,” they are often described as “using the Biblical terms Judea and Samaria,” as if that made such usage illegitimate. In other words, the fact that these place names had been used for three millennia by Jews and the rest of the Western world was not a point in their favor, but rather, was held against them. Amusing, isn’t it, that those people who would dismiss the use of “Judea and Samaria” because they are Biblical names have no objection to using the toponym “Gaza,” which is also a place name found in the Bible.

Now Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York have introduced a bill requiring the U.S. government to drop that preposterous “West Bank,” and to use the venerable, correct, imbued with history, place names “Judea and Samaria.” It’s an important bill; if it passes, it will put back into general circulation, by government fiat, “Judea and Samaria.” If every time a government official, from Trump and Rubio on down, gives a press conference, or holds a Congressional hearing, uses the terms “Judea and Samaria,” it will be an important victory, with the world being reminded that this territory has for more than three millennia been linked to the Jewish people; it was in Judea and Samaria, not in Haifa and Tel Aviv, where their history was made.

More about the legislation introduced Tom Cotton when he announced his resolution can be found here.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act, legislation to require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the historically accurate term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank”. This bill would require the use of historically accurate terminology and align U.S. policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region. This legislation was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-New York).
“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel,” said Senator Cotton.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

To some this will seem a minor matter. “Words, words, words,” as Hamlet said to Polonius. It is not. It is important to escort back into common usage the words, including place names, that the Arabs have managed to push aside and replaced with others that diminish or efface altogether, the Jewish link to the land. Senator Cotton and Congresswoman Tenney deserve the gratitude of all those who care about history and the truth.

Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”

The bill making this change of place-name mandatory throughout the American government has now been introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY). It can be found here.
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious   Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
Striking “West Bank’” And Inserting “Judea and Samaria”
The bill introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (D.-Ark) and Representative Claudia Tenney (D.-NY) can be found here. https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/west_bank.pdf
A BILL
To prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘‘West Bank’’, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SEC.1 SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retiring the Egregious   Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act’’.
118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
2  It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government—
(1) should refer to the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War by its historical names of ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’, with the land south of Jerusalem being considered ‘‘Judea’’
and the land north of Jerusalem being considered ‘Samaria’’; and
(2) should no longer use the term ‘‘West Bank”  in official government materials.
2. SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MATERIALS THAT USE THE TERM ‘‘WEST BANK’’.

3. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available after the date of the enactment of this Act may be obligated or expended to prepare or promulgate any policy, guidance, regulation, in this section if the Secretary—determines that is in the interests of the United States to do so; and
(2) submits to Congress an explanation for the waiver not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary makes the determination.
  SEC. 4. CONFORMING CHANGES TO UNITED STATES LAW. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—The For- Assistance Act of 1961 is amended as follows:(1) In section 620K(f)(3) (22 U.S.C. 2378b(f)(3)), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(2) In section 620L (22 U.S.C. 2378c)—
(A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(b) TAYLOR FORCE ACT.—Section 1004 of the Tay- lor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c–1) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘THE WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(c) MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS PAR- TICIPATION RESOLUTION.—Section 2 of the Multinational Force and Observers Participation Resolution (22 U.S.C. 3421) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(d) OMNIBUS DIPLOMATIC SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISM ACT OF 1986.—Section 414 of the Om- nibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4862) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(e) UNITED STATES-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AREA IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 1985.—Section  9 of the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (Public Law      99–47; 19 U.S.C. 2112 note) is amend-ed by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(f) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007.—Section 2021(i) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(g) FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FIS-CAL YEAR 2003.—Section 699 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 228; 22 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEST BANK’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDEA AND SAMARIA’’; and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.
(h) NITA M. LOWEY MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE ACT.—Section 8005 of the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (division K of Public Law 116–260) is amended by striking ‘‘the West Bank’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Judea and Samaria’’.

Got it?  STRIKE “West Bank” and INSERT “Judea and Samaria.”

O where? Here, there, and everywhere.

Worldwide, Christians are facing increasing persecution because of their faith in Christ. However, they are not alone. An ethnic cleansing of religious minorities is occurring throughout the Middle East. Jews, Christians, Yazidis, and others are threatened with extinction.

December 2010: Tunisians ignited a spark leading to the so-called Arab Spring, fueling hope that freedom and democracy would spread rapidly throughout the Middle East. However, those hopes were dashed as the dream turned into a nightmare.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule led to burned churches and bloodshed. The rise of the Islamic State was followed by even greater atrocities spreading to Iraq and Syria

“Senior Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: October 7 Led to International Recognition of a Palestinian State and Proved Defeating Israel Is Not That Difficult; We Will Never Surrender Our Weapons – Israel Can Dream We Will,” MEMRI, August 2, 2025:

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in an August 2, 2025 interview on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) that international recognition of a Palestinian state is an outcome of the October 7 attack. He said that Palestinian weapons are central to the Palestinian cause, and all Palestinians, not just Hamas, have been raised with this mindset. Surrendering Hamas’s weapons, he said, would mean the end of the Palestinian cause, adding: “Israel can dream we will surrender our weapons to it.” Hamad claimed that Palestinians are not doing anything illegal, are not terrorists, and are not using terrorist methods. He said that the countries now recognizing a Palestinian state had not dared to do so before October 7, but the attack forced the world to open its eyes to the Palestinian cause. He added that another outcome of October 7 is that the “mask has fallen from Israel’s face,” and that the world is now acting against Israel, including rallies in the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany that describe Israeli actions as genocide. Hamad stated that October 7 proved that defeating Israel is not as difficult as previously believed.