Today I noticed on Facebook a local newspaper near me ran an article about our West Dunbartonshire MP Douglas McAllister supporting a ban on trade with Israeli settlements.

The newspaper piece used strong words like “illegal,” “stolen land,” “proceeds of crime,” and even “apartheid.”

As a follower of Jesus who loves the Word of God, I found myself troubled. Not because I want to argue politics, but because the article only told one side of the story.

It left out important history, important documents, and most of all, it left out what the Bible itself says about the land.

Folks, we are called to walk in truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

So let’s take a few minutes to look carefully at the full picture.

The Media Narrative

Many newspapers and politicians speak as if the matter is already settled. They tell us the West Bank is “occupied Palestinian territory,” that Jewish communities there are “illegal settlements,” and that any trade with them is somehow tainted.

These claims are repeated so often that many good people simply suckered into accepting them, but when we dig a little deeper, we discover that the original international documents and careful legal scholarship tell a different story.

We need to be careful not to build our understanding only on headlines.

A Simple Timeline of Facts

Let me give you a simple timeline so we can see the history clearly.

1920 – San Remo Conference

The Allied Powers decided that Britain would administer the land of Palestine and put into effect the Balfour Declaration, the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people.

Full text: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-207297/

PDF version: https://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict/documents/1920-04-25-San-Remo-Conference-resolution.pdf

1922 – League of Nations Mandate for Palestine

This official international document (confirmed 24 July 1922) recognised “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine.” It instructed the British administration to facilitate Jewish immigration and to encourage close settlement by Jews on the land, including state lands and waste lands.

Full easy-to-read text: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Palestine_Mandate.html

Official UN version: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/829707

1948

Israel declared independence. Under the normal rule of international law, a new state inherits the administrative borders of the previous unit. That included Judea and Samaria.

1948–1967

Jordan held the West Bank by force. Almost no nation in the world recognised Jordan’s annexation as legal.

1967

Israel regained control of the area in a defensive war.

1988

King Hussein of Jordan formally renounced all claims to the West Bank (31 July 1988).

Full speech: https://israeled.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8-1988-7-July-31-Speech-by-Jordanian-King-Hussein-on-Jordan%E2%80%99s-Separation-from-West-Bank.pdf

These are not opinions, folks! They are historical facts backed by the original documents.

What Legal Experts Say

Careful legal scholars such as Professor Eugene Kontorovich and British barrister Natasha Hausdorff have explained this for years.

A country cannot “occupy” territory to which it already has a prior legal claim. The classic law of occupation applies when one nation takes land from another recognised sovereign state. Jordan was never widely accepted as the lawful sovereign of that land.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, so often quoted against the settlements, was written to stop forced population transfers like those of the Nazis.

It does not forbid Jewish people from voluntarily returning to the heartland of their ancient homeland.

We should notice when the same rules that apply to every other nation somehow stop applying when it comes to Israel.

That kind of double standard should concern every believer who loves justice and truth.

What the Bible Says

As followers of Jesus, we do not begin with international law. We begin with the Word of God.

Listen to the clear promises the Lord made:

Genesis 12:7 – “To your descendants I will give this land.”

Genesis 15:18 – “To your descendants I have given this land…”

Genesis 17:8 – “I will give to you and your descendants after you the land… as an everlasting possession.”

Deuteronomy 30:1-5 – God promises to bring His people back from exile and restore them to the land.

Ezekiel 36 and 37 – God will gather Israel from the nations and settle them again in their own land.

And Romans 11:29 reminds us that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Even the 1922 League of Nations Mandate recognised this ancient historical connection.

Scripture and the historical record are not enemies of each other.

They stand together!

Why This Matters for Christians

Truth matters because our God is a God of truth. When the media and political voices present only one side and leave out the primary documents, we who know the Lord should gently but firmly take notice.

None of this means we ignore the real suffering of Palestinian people or the genuine problems of violence and injustice on the ground.

Real peace will require honesty from every side. But honesty must begin with accurate history, not with slogans that erase Jewish rights and the clear promises of Scripture.

We are not called to hate anyone. We are called to love our neighbour as ourselves and to speak the truth in love.

Supporting the right of the Jewish people to live in their ancient homeland is not hatred of Arabs.

Refusing to look at the full record is not true compassion, its pure laziness.

A Final Word

The newspaper article is just one small example of a much larger pattern. There is a pattern of these outlets simply repeat the dominant narrative without examining the San Remo decisions, the 1922 Mandate text, or the careful legal arguments that challenge the “illegal occupation” claim.

I encourage you, folks, to read the original documents for yourself, as I have linked. I’m sure any trained journalist could have done this investigative work instead of copying and pasting.

They are freely available. Test everything against the Scriptures and against the historical record.

Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, just as Psalm 122:6 tells us.

Let us pray for both Jews and Arabs to come to know the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Messiah.

And let us refuse to settle for half-truths, no matter how loudly or how often they are repeated.

May the Lord give us wisdom, courage, and a deep love for the truth.

Keep Bible Strong

Peter