By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday morning that 22 new Israeli towns will be established or legalized across Judea and Samaria, marking the largest single settlement expansion since Israel took control over the territories in June 1967.
The move was initiated by Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) and Minister within the Ministry of Defense Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party), who also serves as Finance Minister.
Thursday’s announcement confirms reports this week that the Security Cabinet voted secretly to approval the establishment of 22 new towns in Judea and Samaria.
The decision provides full government recognition for the 22 communities as separate townships.
Some of the communities listed in the decision already have a Jewish presence, including a number of unauthorized outpost communities, as well as Homesh and Sa-Nur, two towns evacuated by the Sharon government in 2005 as part of the Gaza Disengagement Plan.
Located in northern Samaria, Sa-Nur was once a artist colony established in the ruins of an abandoned village. Most of the structures were left intact even after the 2005 Disengagement, while the three other towns evacuated in northern Samaria – Ganim, Kadim, and Homesh – were demolished.
Settlement activists have established outposts in both Sa-Nur and Homesh.
The new government decision, however, is the first to legally sanction the resettlement of northern Samaria.
Several quasi-legal fledgling communities in Samaria – including Havot Yair, Adei Ad, and Ahiya, will also receive recognition as full-blown, legal towns.
The Defense Ministry added that four new towns will be built in the Jordan Valley area, while Israel Hayom reported this week that additional towns will be built along Route 443 – a highway linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Samaria.
“All the new settlements are being established from a long-term strategic perspective, aiming to strengthen Israel’s presence in the territory, prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and secure development reserves for settlement over the coming decades,” the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Defense Minister Katz hailed the move as “historic.”
“This historic decision to establish 22 new settlements in Judea and Samaria strengthens our hold on the region, anchors our historical right to the Land of Israel, and constitutes a resounding answer to Palestinian terror that seeks to harm and weaken the settlement enterprise.”
“Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is a vital shield for the security of Israel’s major population centers, and everything must be done to expand and reinforce this protective barrier.”
“The decision we made today not only strengthens the settlement in the eastern spine of the state – it is also a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel, and serves as a buffer against our enemies.”
Smotrich, a long-time settlement activist, said that the Security Cabinet’s decision marked “a great day for the settlement enterprise and an important day for the State of Israel.”
“Through dedicated effort and determined leadership, we have succeeded, thank God, in producing a deep strategic shift, bringing the State of Israel back to the path of building, Zionism, and vision.
“Settlement in the land of our forefathers is the protective wall of the State of Israel – today we took a huge step in strengthening it. The next step – sovereignty! We have not taken a foreign land but rather the inheritance of our ancestors.”
Content retrieved from: https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-to-establish-22-new-settlements-in-judea-samaria/.
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