NewsJudea and Samaria

Israel approves 22 new Judea and Samaria towns in ‘dramatic’ secret vote

"This is a dramatic government decision, unprecedented in terms of deepening the Israeli settlement of Judea and Samaria," said the Yesha Council.

A construction site in Shiloh in the Binyamin region of Samaria, June 21, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
A construction site in Shiloh in the Binyamin region of Samaria, June 21, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved 22 new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, including two that were uprooted during the 2005 Gaza disengagement, Yesha Council leader Israel Ganz revealed on Tuesday.

“This is a dramatic government decision, unprecedented in terms of deepening the Israeli settlement of Judea and Samaria,” said Ganz, whose Yesha Council represents the approximately 500,000 Jewish residents of the area.

“Led by Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz—and with the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all government ministers—the Israeli government has decided to establish 22 new towns in Binyamin, Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,” he said.

According to a report by Israel’s Ynet news outlet on Tuesday night, the Security Cabinet approved the move in secrecy around two weeks ago.

The villages span regional councils across Judea and Samaria, with provisional names including Adei Ad, Ahiya, Nofei Prat, Atarot Adar, Inbar and Beit Horon North in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council; Kedem Arava in the Megilot Regional Council; Machane Gadi, Ir Hatmarim, Gevaonit and Tabbat in the Jordan Valley Regional Council; Mitzpe Ziv, El Naveh and another Kedem Arava in the Mount Hebron Regional Council; and Havat Yair, Ma’oz Zvi, Ma’alot Halhul, Afeka, Yonadav, Rehavam and Mount Ebal in the Samaria Regional Council.

Some of the villages listed are existing outposts that had thus far been illegal under Israeli law, while others will be newly constructed.

According to Israel Hayom, the government intends to use some of the new towns to bolster its presence around Route 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv through Modi’in, situated halfway between the two major cities.

The Cabinet was also said to have green-lit the re-establishment of Homesh and Sa-Nur, communities in northern Samaria that were forcibly evacuated during the 2005 disengagement.

The disengagement entailed the destruction of Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim in northern Samaria, in addition to 21 Gaza towns.

“This historic decision sends a clear message,” Ganz declared on Tuesday. “We are here not only to stay, but to firmly establish the State of Israel in this area, for all its residents, and to strengthen its security.”

On May 19, Israel’s Channel 14 News reported that Smotrich was set to legalize 22 Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria, nine of which would be new towns. The report also mentioned Homesh and Sa-Nur, as well as a new community on Mount Ebal.

Three days later, Israeli Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf announced that Jerusalem would allocate 30 million shekels ($8.42 million) to build more than a dozen cities and industrial zones in Samaria in an attempt to bring a million more Jews to the area.

As of Jan. 1, 529,704 Jews lived in Judea and Samaria, amounting to approximately 5.28% of Israel’s population.

Nearly 70% of Israelis want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty over the disputed territory, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, 58% of Israeli Jews believe that communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the country, according to a survey the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.

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