When did the trans-Jordanian territories acquire kedusha?

Question

Two-and-a-half tribes (Reuben, Gad and half of Menasseh) had land on "the other side" of the Jordan river, allocated to them by Moses in Bemidbar 32, and made conditional on their participation in the conquest of the rest.

At what point did that land become part of the land of Israel? Was it immediate? Or was it only once the rest of the land had been conquered and was ready to be parceled out to the other tribal leaders?

I am asking because I want to know the status of the land on which Moses stood at the time that he was standing on it. Did Moses get to "enter" the land of Israel, or didn't he? The text says that he didn't, but he was standing on ground that we consider part of the land of Israel.

Answer 1

I believe the answer is only after the rest of the land was conquered but before the land was allocated, and all this happened after the death of Moshe.

See Bamidbar 32:29 where Moshe instructs Eleazar and Joshua to give the land

Moses said to them [Eleazar and Joshua], “If every shock-fighter among the Gadites and the Reubenites crosses the Jordan with you to do battle, at the instance of the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, you shall give them the land of Gilead as a holding. But if they do not cross over with you as shock-troops, they shall receive holdings among you in the land of Canaan.”

Artscroll quotes Abarbanel that, although Gad and Reuven were ready to stay in Israel "mainland" until it was allocated to individual Jews, Moshe declined the offer and said that they need remain only until the wars were over (which took seven years) but before the other seven years for the allocation of land).

From the language in Joshua 13:8 and following (e.g., 13:15), it appears that Moshe assigned the land that was promised to them, it was then occupied by women and children but it became their formal possession only after the wars. Indeed I have now seen that artscroll on these verses quotes Lev Aharon: "the tribes on the east bank did not acquire full ownership of their territories until Eretz Israel proper was in Jewish hands. See also Joshua 22.

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On the question raised in comments of whether these territories were part of Eretz Israel, the gemara in Arachin 32b mentions that when the tribe of Reuven, Gad and half of Menasheh was exiled, the Yovels were suspended (since they apply only wen every one of the 12 tribes is settled in Eretz Israel in their respective places) which I think proves these tribe territories were in Eretz Israel (see here for further discussion).

Answer 2

The Netziv in Haamak Davar on this passuk, (Bamidbar 33:51) says

כי אתם עוברים את הירדן וגו׳. אבל כ״ז שלא עברו את הירדן לא״י לא הוזהרו להאביד ע״ז בעה״י. דאזהרה זו היא משום קדושת הארץ. ואין עה״י מתקדש אלא אחר שנתקדש א״י כמו לענין ערי מקלט שאינן קולטות עד שיהיו נגמר גם בא״י משום דערי מקלט תלוי בקדושת הארץ בזמן שהיובל נוהג. ויובל תלוי בזמן שכל ישראל על אדמתם וע׳ להלן ל״ה י׳ ומש״ה לא הוזהרו לבער ע״ז מעה״י עד שיטהרו מא״י:

When you cross. As long as they had not yet crossed the Yardein into Eretz Yisroel, they were not ordered to destroy the idol worship on the other side of the Yardein. This commandment depended on the holiness of the Land of Israel; the other side of the Yardein did not become sanctified until Eretz Yisroel was sanctified. This is similar to the concept of the Cities of Refuge that did not take in accidental murderers until those in Eretz Yisroel would also be sanctified, because the activation of the Cities of Refuge depends on the holiness of Eretz Yisroel which in turn is only when the Jubilee year is being observed.