Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara held a diplomatic and social meeting on Monday evening with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and his wife Kelly Lary. The meeting took place in the town of Shiloh in Samaria and included a joint dinner.
Also attending the event were US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, along with Congress members Michael McCaul, Claudia Tenney, Michael Cloud, and Nathaniel Moran.
Yesha Council Chairman and Binyamin Regional Council Head Israel Gantz was also present. During the event, the Prime Minister and his wife met with Ditza Or, mother of kidnapped Israeli Avinatan Or.
Earlier in the day, Johnson visited the city of Ariel, the capital of Samaria, accompanied by Ambassador Huckabee and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
According to officials on the ground, the visit aimed to strengthen strategic ties between the two nations and deepen familiarity with the region of Judea and Samaria, against the backdrop of ongoing public discourse in the US regarding the application of Israeli sovereignty.
Johnson, regarded as the third most senior figure in the US government according to the Constitution, is the highest-ranking official ever to visit Judea and Samaria in an official capacity.
During the visit, the delegation took part in a vine planting ceremony at the National Leadership Development Center in Ariel, together with 15 additional members of Congress. The ceremony symbolized the partnership between the two nations and support for the Jewish people’s right to sovereignty in their land.
At the day’s main event, a festive lunch was held with the participation of additional municipal leaders. Ariel Mayor Yair Chetboun described the visit as “a historic moment of shared values, deep friendship, and steadfast partnership between the US and Israel — and between the US and Judea and Samaria, where the Jewish story began.”