Twenty-one years after the Disengagement, Israeli authorities today approved a major step toward renewing settlement in the area.
The Supreme Planning Council approved the local outline plan for the town of Sa-Nur, marking the first permanent construction plan authorized for a community evacuated during the disengagement.
The project, initiated by the Samaria Regional Council and promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich together with council head Yossi Dagan, covers roughly 58,000 square meters.
Under the approved plan, 126 housing units are expected to be built alongside public buildings, infrastructure and open areas surrounding the historic fortress located at the center of the town.
The initiative is being advanced in coordination with professional teams from the Samaria Regional Council, the Settlement Administration and the Civil Administration. As part of the process, Smotrich and Dagan held a working meeting in Sa-Nur following a groundbreaking ceremony at the site.
Smotrich described the approval as “a historic moment" and said it represented the correction of what he called “a terrible injustice" created by the disengagement from northern Samaria.
“After years of struggle, we are removing the stain of the Disengagement Law from northern Samaria," he said. “We promised to strengthen settlement and build the country, and we are fulfilling that promise. This approval sends a clear message that we are here to stay. Sa-Nur is returning to the map of Jewish settlement, and this is only the beginning."
During discussions at the Sureme Planning Council, Dagan recited the “Shehecheyanu" blessing and called the approval another milestone in reversing the Disengagement.
“The advancement of 126 permanent housing units in Sa-Nur is the most Zionist and moral response to the Disengagement," Dagan said. “We promised to return home, and now we are entering the stage of permanent construction and renewed roots in northern Samaria."
He added that the approved maps and building plans were now becoming “a reality on the ground," expressing hope that Sa-Nur and the wider northern Samaria region would continue to grow and attract additional families in the coming years.