New Israeli Settlement Established in West Bank Hours After Election

A new Israeli settlement, "Giv'at Shomron," was established in the northern West Bank on Wednesday, the morning after Israel's general election. The settlement is located on land that previously housed the Paratroopers' training base, Sa-Nur, which was evacuated in 2002. The first mobile homes have been placed, and founding families, many of them graduates of the Ramat Gan Yeshiva, are moving in.

Yossi Dagan, Head of the Shomron Regional Council, stated, "This is our Zionist answer! We are here in the northern Shomron on the map, forever!" The establishment of Giv'at Shomron is part of the Shomron Regional Council's "Connection Plan," which aims to establish 19 new settlements in the northern West Bank, replacing the four settlements evacuated during the 2005 disengagement. This initiative is also linked to the council's "One Million in Shomron" plan.

The founding families, including graduates of the Ramat Gan Yeshiva led by Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira and Rabbi Ben Zion Algazi, are settling in the mobile homes. A formal inauguration ceremony is scheduled for later in the day, with expected attendance from government ministers, Knesset members, and public figures, including Minister of Defense Katz, Minister of Finance Smotrich, and Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, President of the Ramat Gan Yeshiva.

One of the new residents, Yitzchak Elhanan Drori, a musician from Ramat Gan, expressed his excitement about joining the settlement with his wife and six children. He described the establishment as a "second chance" for the northern Shomron and a fulfillment of a biblical mission. Giv'at Shomron joins a wave of settlement activity in the region, with ten new settlements established in less than a year, following government decisions and in continuation of efforts to strengthen Israeli presence.