US House Speaker Mike Johnson has travelled to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, where he hailed the land’s religious significance during a luncheon with local leaders and said he believes Jewish people have a “right” to it due to his religious beliefs, according to Israel’s Arutz Sheva media outlet.

“Every corner of this land is important to us,” Johnson said, in comments carried by Arutz Sheva.

“Being here, in the place where our faith began — this has great significance. The Bible teaches that Judea and Samaria were promised to the Jewish people, and they belong to you by right,” he added, using the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.