New Israeli Settlement 'Noa' Established in Samaria

The new Israeli settlement of Noa was officially established on Monday in the northern Samaria region, south of the existing communities of Ganim and Kadim. This marks the eighth new settlement founded by the Samaria Regional Council in under a year. The establishment ceremony included the ribbon-cutting by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, along with Ministers Miki Zohar, Orit Struk, and Amichai Chikli, who joined the founding families. Dagan expressed his excitement, stating, "This is the absolute victory! The people of Israel are restoring justice to northern Samaria." The settlers participated in affixing a mezuzah and inaugurating the first residential structures.

Noa is situated south of Ganim and Kadim, two settlements that were evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement plan and recently re-established. The settlement's creation follows a decision by the Israeli cabinet about a year ago, spearheaded by Ministers Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich. This initiative is part of the Samaria Council's "Connection Plan," which aims to establish 19 new settlements in northern Samaria and aligns with the council's broader "Million in Samaria" plan to increase the region's population to one million residents.

Dagan emphasized the significance of the moment, reciting the blessing "Blessed is He Who establishes borders." He declared, "In the place where they sought to uproot and expel, we are privileged today to build a new settlement and bring pioneering families to the land. After years of persistent struggle, northern Samaria is rising again." He added that the establishment of Noa is a "victorious Zionist response to all who thought settlement would stop, and from the four evacuated settlements, we will grow to many settlements, thriving communities, and thousands of families."

Shira Bar-Gad, a mother of two who moved from Jerusalem to the new settlement, shared her feelings about the move. "We waited a long time for this, it's exciting that it's finally happening, that this hill that had nothing is becoming a settlement. Now you see the road being paved and the caravans that have arrived, it's truly exciting. My older son Yehuda is also excited and talks about it. When we visited my sister in her settlement, he said, 'Isn't it true that there was also nothing here once?'"