Samaria 4.42

Samaria is a name for the mountainous, central region of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, based on the borders of the biblical Northern Kingdom of Israel, and especially the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The name "Samaria" is derived from the ancient city of Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.Since 1967, Samaria has been used by Israeli officials to refer to the north of the West Bank, as the administrative Judea and Samaria Area. Jordan ceded its claim to the area to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in August 1988. In 1994, control of Areas 'A' (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority) and 'B' (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control) were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority and the international community do not recognize the term "Samaria"; in modern times, the territory is generally known as part of the West Bank.EtymologyAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew name "Shomron" is derived from the individual Shemer, from whom King Omri purchased the site for his new capital city (1 Kings 16:24). In modern times, Samaria was one of six administrative districts of the Mandatory Palestine. Following the occupation of the West Bank by Israel in 1967, the Israeli right began to refer to the territories by their biblical names and argued for their usage on historical, religious, nationalist and security grounds.