Two years after the hunger strike and Judea and Samaria bypass road agreement, the Finance Ministry today approved a tender to construct a road bypassing Huwwara in Samaria.
The move was led by Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, and the then-heads of the local authorities, Beit Aryeh Council head Avi Naim and Kiryat Arba Council head Malachi Levinger, together with the bereaved families.
The road, estimated to cost NIS 250 million, is among the strategic roads in Judea and Samaria. It is expected to turn the mountaintop communities (Yitzhar, Itamar, Har Bracha and Alon Moreh) into central and accessible towns connected to the center of the country, and to raise the price of real estate in the area, which has already risen by hundreds of percent in recent years.
The Finance Ministry convened to approve the tender in the Exceptions Committee, because the state budget has not yet been approved and it was necessary to transfer the permit to tender in a special committee.
The Committee exceptionally approved the tender because permission to commit was given as early as 2017, so approval was granted here as it was with the Aroub bypass road.
"We're making huge strides in dramatically changing the face of settlement," said Dagan. "Significantly, the Huwwara bypass road will turn the mountain settlements into a magnet for tens of thousands of Israelis."
Dagan thanked the bereaved families and the heads of the authorities who held the hunger strike, as well as Transport Minister Miri Regev and Finance Minister Yisrael Katz.