Some ask; "Why must Israel maintain some type of hegemony over the west bank, even to the Jordan river"? Actually, the answer is quite simple..even though some "strain at a gnat" in trying to understand it !
Here are three major reasons why;
1) THE PROMISE:
(Genesis 17:7,8) Lord speaking to Abraham:
" I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an Everlasting Covenant, to be a God unto you and your seed after you". And I will give unto you , and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Caanan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God".
(Genesis 28:13) Lord speaking to Jacob:
" And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed".
Of course, the above verses are only of import to those who endorse the Bible. If the Koran is more to their liking, they would probably disagree... 2) THE NATURE OF "THE LAND" AND DEFENSE OF IT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2hZ6SlSqq0 3) TO PREVENT WW3:
Israel is threatened every day by their surrounding neighbors, who possess a land area 650 times the size of Israel itself. These surrounding nations have admitted they will "wipe Israel off the map", as soon as they feel they are ready. Israel is an advanced nation, well prepared to defend itself and with modern weaponry have decided to move from the "Masada" mode of thinking..(suicide before being conquered): to the "Samson" pattern..(take all enemies down, along with themselves)
Keeping this in mind, the world has an obligation to prevent a heavy nuclear exchange in the near east ! We should not be so naive as to think that complete devastation of the near & middle east would stay within those geographical borders.... Exchanges of a multitude of nukes could not likely be contained to any geographical area.
...Food for thought...