It was disclosed Thursday that Central District army commander Gadi Shamni signed an order on May 27th, banning continued construction in the Samarian Jewish community of Beit Aryeh, east of Tel Aviv. The ban follows building that was ordered by the Beit Aryeh-Opharim community council, which would have put houses in areas designated for the Samaria security fence.
Beit Aryeh was established in 1981 with a nucleus of 60 families. It merged with Opharim in 2002, and is now home to 900 families.