Geert Wilders’ announcement came in the wake of his stunning victory in the Netherlands’ general elections and was shared in a Saturday post on X, where he cited a Politico article that reported on Arab states’ criticisms of his pro-Israel stance.

In the midst of the political upheaval, Wilders, who has been dubbed “the Dutch Donald Trump,” has expressed unwavering support for Israel. Wilders’ triumph in the elections is indicative of a shifting political landscape in the Netherlands, with his party garnering 37 of the 150 parliamentary seats.

Wilders was responding to pressures on Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, commonly called the West Bank (so called because Jordan illegally annexed and occupied the area in 1949), and to allow for the creation of a Palestinian state there. The current Israeli has vowed not to consider this. In the wake of the October 7 surprise attack and massacre, there’s “no way in hell” that Israeli would agree to any withdrawal from the area.

The roots of Wilders’ declaration that “Jordan is Palestine” can be traced back to the historical intricacies of the region. The British Mandate for Palestine, established after World War I, encompassed the areas now known as Israel and Jordan, and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Following a division by the British in 1922, the mandate was split between the Jewish national home and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, King Hussein of Jordan proclaimed that “Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.” Despite this, the current Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, has categorically rejected the idea that his country serves as an alternative homeland for Palestinians.

Wilders has been a longstanding advocate of this perspective, once directing sharp criticism at then President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, urging them to “stop bashing Israel about settlements.” He has emphatically stated, “Judea and Samaria belong to Israel,” and that “Jordan = Palestine.”

The demographic argument for Wilders’ claim rests on the significant Palestinian population within Jordan. Many Palestinians found refuge in Jordan following the 1948 and 1967 wars, and they, along with their descendants, have become an integral part of the country’s societal fabric.

Yitzhak Shamir, a former Israeli prime minister, supported the notion that Jordan is inherently a Palestinian state, saying that the absence of such recognition is “an accident of history.” He warned that the establishment of an additional Palestinian state in the West Bank would be a “prescription for anarchy.”

While Wilders’ comments have resonated with some, they have also been met with widespread criticism, especially from Arab nations, and have prompted a global dialogue on the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Wilders prepares to potentially lead the Dutch government, his controversial views will likely continue to influence not only national but also international political narratives.