20 heads of local councils in Judea and Samaria sent a letter to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri opposing the decision to unite 4 local councils- Elkana, Oranit, Etz Efraim and Shaarei Tikva and create a city in Samaria.
The heads of the councils said that such a unification would present an illusion that there is new building but would not add more new construction on the ground and therefore would not serve the needs of the communities to develop further.