The IDF this week launched a major operational shift in northern Samaria, marking the return of the Menashe Brigade headquarters to the area for the first time in two decades.
The brigade was relocated from Camp Dotan during the 2005 Disengagement Plan to Kibbutz Ein Shemer. Under the new plan, the headquarters will be rebuilt in the heart of Samaria. As part of the initial phase, an IDF company has already been deployed in the former town of Sa-Nur, ahead of the establishment of a permanent military base intended to secure the return of Israeli civilian life.
The move is being led by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister and Defense Ministry Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, and involves a substantial budgetary commitment. During a tour of the site, Smotrich said that approximately NIS 800 million has been allocated over the next three years for the construction of the Menashe Brigade headquarters and two additional battalion headquarters in the sector.
Political and military officials say the redeployment is aimed at addressing what they describe as a security vacuum that has existed in northern Samaria since 2005.
Smotrich emphasized that the return of both the IDF and civilian communities to Sa-Nur, Homesh, Ganim and Kadim is central to Israel’s internal security. “This is the security of Afula, Harish and Hadera. This is how we suppress terror,” he said.
He added that the relocation of the brigade headquarters is part of a broader process of restoring Jewish communities and military presence in the region. “As a first stage, the army has already stationed a company here to secure the families who will return immediately once the building plans are approved,” Smotrich said. He also noted that construction of the Silat bypass road, which was approved and funded by the government, is already underway. “It is tremendously exciting to see the renewed connection between the army and settlement,” he said.
Samaria governor Yossi Dagan described the move as a symbolic and practical reversal of the 2005 disengagement. “The return to Sa-Nur represents the return of the State of Israel and the IDF to northern Samaria,” he said, arguing that the evacuation of the settlements led to instability and increased terror activity. “We are here to correct the expulsion and its military consequences,” Dagan said, adding that a permanent IDF presence alongside renewed Israeli civilian life would restore security and reduce operational strain on the army.
Alongside the military construction, work has begun on civilian infrastructure, including the paving of the Silat bypass road to provide secure access to the area. The IDF is preparing for an initial group of families to move to Sa-Nur as early as the upcoming Purim holiday, pending final approval of building plans.