The reason why Israel never trusts international referees is because those would-be arbiters always seem to huddle in their opponents’ corner. After the Israeli Security Cabinet approved measures to exert greater control over Judea and Samaria, more than 80 nations condemned Israel for doing so in a statement submitted to the United Nations Tuesday. The anti-Semitic coalition expressed their firm opposition to “all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.”

The immediate problem with this sentiment is its utter separation from reality. The Israeli government’s “action follows decades of looting, unauthorized construction, and … damage to many [Jewish heritage] sites in Judea and Samaria,” described Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch.” When the Palestinian Authority (PA) builds illegal settlements and destroys Jewish heritage sites, this coalition of Israeli-hating nations cannot muster an ounce of outrage.

“There’s massive illegal construction going on by the Palestinian Authority” in what “is really a strategic battleground,” affirmed David Wurmser, former Middle East advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney, on “Washington Watch.” “The Palestinians have been building like crazy, while the Israelis, for the last 20 years, have again and again and again been in essentially a settlement freeze.”

“That is the heartland, the strategic core of Israel,” Wurmser added. “Where you put buildings, where you put cities, where you put corridors really is what dominates the land.”

The Israeli government approved a plan to formally register the land, a move which has not been undertaken in the 59 years since Israel took control of the territory in 1967. “If anybody’s ever been to the West Bank, there are fairly dense Palestinian towns, but very few of them. And much of the area is empty,” Wurmser explained. “And in some of those areas are some of these incredibly important archaeological sites.”

Yet, despite an abundance of empty space, the PA has undertaken illegal construction projects at these archaeological sites. “Last time I was in Israel, I was at Joshua’s altar, which is in an area of Palestinian control, and they have actually bulldozed part of this historic site,” Perkins related.

Besides Joshua’s altar, Wurmser added, archaeologists are “beginning to find some incredible things in that area,” which includes Shiloh, Bethlehem, Bethel, Hebron, and other significant towns from Israel’s national history. “You just leaf through the Bible, and this is the heartland. So, there are going to be archaeological sites everywhere, and they are being destroyed.”

Wurmser reiterated that what makes the destruction so egregious is that it is so unnecessary. “What’s disturbing is these [archaeological sites] are not in the middle of urban areas that need that space to expand. Again, most of the area is empty,” he said. “They choose these sites because they know that it puts a dagger in the heart of Jewish and Christian history and essentially begins to erase Jewish and Christian history in the area.”

“This is the cradle of Christianity and the cradle of Judaism. [If] you erase that,” Wurmser went on, it bolsters the argument of Palestinian Arabs that “the Jews really don’t belong to this land.”

“This is a form of cultural genocide,” Perkins exclaimed. The Palestinian push for “erasing Jewish and Christian history” is not only about contaminating sites of historical interest, he argued, “it’s also more about the identity and the connection with the land.”

The Jewish connection with the land of Israel goes back to Genesis 12:7, where the Lord told Abram, “To your offspring I will give this land.” To deny this point, Palestinian Arabs know they must erase the evidence of Israel’s long habitation in the land. Thus, the controversy is more than a matter of real estate, or even of geopolitics; the real battle being waged is a religious one.

Unfortunately, Perkins added, “it’s not just the Palestinians” who are conspiring to erase Israel’s history from their historical homeland in Judea and Samaria. “This has been aided by the international community, and in particular the United Nations.”

For instance, he continued, “UNESCO in 2017 designated the cave of the patriarchs, where the patriarchs and matriarchs are buried, as a Palestinian World Heritage Site, utilizing the Arabic name and completely eliminating the historic reference to the Jewish people.”

Even “the Temple Mount itself … including the Western Wall,” Wurmser concurred, “UNESCO also labeled that … a Palestinian patronage site.” By asserting more authority over the land in Judea and Samaria, including over historically significant sites, Israel is seeking to protect its own history from destruction by its enemies.

Yet Israel’s efforts have been complicated by the Trump administration’s firm opposition to Israeli annexation of its homeland.

“President Trump is in part … relating it to the idea that either the Saudis may be on the verge of making peace, and also that it could complicate our relations with the supposed allies, like Qatar and Turkey,” Wurmser proposed.

However, Wurmser added, “that is changing. Qatar and Turkey are not acting like allies, really, especially not vis-a-vis Israel. And the Saudis are distancing themselves more from the peace process or from making peace with Israel. So, some of the overarching reasons for Israeli self-restraint on this issue are, from the Israeli point of view, beginning to go away.”

Yet worldwide opposition constrains Israel to proceed slowly. “Technically, this is not annexation,” said Perkins, “but they are increasing their control over this area that the international community wants to take from them.”