Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considered a leading candidate for the 2024 United States presidential election, defended the right of Jews to live in their Biblical homeland of Judea and Samaria and reiterated that he does not consider these territories to be “occupied” during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) political conference Saturday night.

“I don’t care what the State Department said, they are not occupied territory; it is disputed territory,” DeSantis said about Judea and Samaria.