New Settlement Established in Samaria Day After Elections

A new settlement, "Giv'at Shomron," was established in the northern Samaria region on Wednesday, one day after the Knesset elections. The first families have begun arriving at the site, which was formerly the training base for the Paratroopers Brigade, "Ach Yanur," evacuated in 2002. The initial caravans have been set up, and more equipment is en route for the incoming families. The founding families are from Ramat Gan and are associated with the Ramat Gan Yeshiva, led by Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira and Rabbi Ben Zion Algazi.

A formal inauguration ceremony is scheduled for later in the day, with expected attendance from government ministers, Knesset members, rabbis, and public figures, including Head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan and Rabbi Yaakov Ariel. The establishment of "Giv'at Shomron" is part of the Samaria Regional Council's "Connection Plan," in cooperation with the Amanah movement and the Settlement Division. This plan aims to establish 19 new settlements in northern Samaria, replacing the four settlements evacuated during the 2005 disengagement.

The initiative is also linked to the council's "Million in Samaria" project. According to the council, ten new settlements have been established in northern Samaria in less than a year, with the support of the cabinet, government decisions, and ministers Katz and Smotrich, alongside Council Head Yossi Dagan. Dagan was present at the site in the morning, participating in the "Shehecheyanu" blessing with the workers as the caravans arrived. He stated that this settlement is a "Zionist response to the uprooting" and affirmed their intention to remain.

One of the families moving to the new settlement is that of Yitzhak Elhanan Drori, a violinist from Ramat Gan, who is relocating with his wife and six children. Drori expressed his excitement about joining the initiative, noting that the opportunity arose when they learned about the new settlement and the organizing group from the yeshiva. Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira also commented on the settlement's establishment, emphasizing the long-awaited opportunity to settle the land and calling it a "second chance for northern Samaria."