Smotrich Calls for West Bank Sovereignty Before Elections as First Settlement Housing Deal Is Signed

Israel signed its first housing framework agreement in the West Bank on Sunday in Karnei Shomron, in a deal worth about 2 billion shekels. The agreement, developed with the local council, the government and the Israel Land Authority, was announced at a ceremony attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Housing Minister Haim Katz, Israel Land Authority director Yehuda Eliyahu, Karnei Shomron council head Yehonatan Kuznitz and other senior officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled at the last minute but sent a congratulatory video message.

The plan calls for about 6,000 new housing units, along with major investment in infrastructure, public buildings, education, culture, transportation, commercial and employment space, and public-area development. Officials said the project will expand Karnei Shomron’s boundaries, strengthen it as a major regional center in Samaria, and include upgrades to older neighborhoods as part of a long-term development strategy.

At the ceremony, Smotrich linked the deal to wider political tensions and urged the government to move ahead with sovereignty in Judea and Samaria before elections. “It is time to decide also in Judea and Samaria and apply sovereignty before the elections,” he said, adding that sovereignty would be “the decisive answer to the diplomatic assault being waged against us around the world.”

Eliyahu called the signing a “historic moment,” while Kuznitz said it was one of the most significant moves in the settlement’s history and would lay the groundwork for Karnei Shomron to become a major regional hub in the coming years.