Israel today advanced the status of Giv'at HaRo'eh in the Binyamin area, with 465 dunams declared state land for the settlement’s expansion. The move comes about two years after the security cabinet recognized Giv'at HaRo'eh as a new, independent community and marks a major step in formalizing it.
The declaration follows several other regulatory steps completed in recent months: the Central Command commander signed off on expanding the jurisdictional boundary, the Interior Ministry assigned the settlement an official code, and planning is now moving ahead for an initial construction plan of more than 900 housing units.
Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich said Giv'at HaRo'eh had waited more than 20 years for government regularization and called the latest decision a major boost for growth and development. He said, "Against the left's plans to evacuate settlements, we are fighting a Palestinian state that will not be established," adding that the move was another "stick in the wheels" of such a state and a step toward de facto sovereignty. He thanked the Civil Administration, the regional commander and the Settlement Administration.
Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz called the decision strategically important, saying the settlement sits in a central area in the heart of the country and serves as the western anchor of the Gush Shilo-Ofra bloc. He said expanding it strengthens the settlement continuity, Israel's hold on the territory and the security of hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Gantz added that, together with the approval of thousands of housing units across the area, the move is part of a wider effort to reshape the settlement map and stop the creation of a Palestinian state. Smotrich has been promoting the regularization of new settlements across the West Bank since taking office, and 19 additional settlements have been approved in recent months, including Ganim and Kadim in northern Samaria.
