The Israeli government is expected to approve on Sunday a NIS 1.075 billion budget plan to build transportation and security infrastructure for dozens of new communities in Judea and Samaria.
The initiative is being led by Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, following approximately two months of planning by a professional team in the Settlement Administration.
The funding is designated for the construction of access roads and security routes to communities approved by the Security Cabinet during the war. Among these communities are four northern Samaria towns evacuated under the 2005 Disengagement Plan - Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim - as well as a number of additional new communities slated to be established in the coming years.
Government officials said the decision is intended to address the immediate need for secure access and security roads for the new communities, noting that such projects cannot be financed through the standard infrastructure costs associated with land development. To that end, the Transportation Ministry, in cooperation with the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry, formulated a detailed multi-year plan.
Under the proposal, the budget will be spread over three years and allocated to the Transportation and Defense ministries. The plan includes designing and paving new access roads, upgrading existing roads, and completing connecting road segments between communities where needed. Security components will also be incorporated as an integral part of the infrastructure planning for communities throughout Judea and Samaria.
The proposal further stipulates that if the government approves additional communities in Judea and Samaria in the future, or normalizes existing communities, these will automatically be incorporated into the multi-year infrastructure plan and receive funding under the program.
Smotrich welcomed the initiative, saying: "The historic decision we approved will enable the establishment of dozens of communities at strategic locations in Judea and Samaria. We are leading a settlement and security revolution, with more than 100 communities and 160 farms strengthening the security of the State of Israel and putting an end to the dangerous idea of establishing a terrorist state in the very heart of the State of Israel."
"Faced with plans by an [MK Gadi] Eisenkot[-led] government to evacuate the new communities we have established, the multi-year program we are advancing will ensure the planning and construction of new access roads, the upgrading of existing routes, and connections between communities, alongside the integration of critical security components. We are working with determination alongside all government ministries to remove obstacles and obtain the necessary approvals to guarantee safe and orderly access for the new communities."
The government said the initiative forms part of its broader policy of expanding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, with the infrastructure investment intended to facilitate the population of the new communities and integrate them into the regional transportation network while addressing the area's security needs.