Israeli Families Reestablish Northern West Bank Settlement 21 Years After Disengagement

Thirty families from the Kadim group established a new settlement in northern Samaria on Thursday, marking the final stage in reversing Israel's 2005 disengagement plan in the area. This move follows similar reestablishments in Ganim, Sha'anur, and Homesh, completing a coordinated effort by settlement leaders in Judea and Samaria to erase the disengagement's legacy.

The official ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan. Smotrich emphasized that the settlement expansion revolution they led, which includes 104 communities and over 160 farms, is irreversible and warned that a different government might threaten the settlement enterprise. The initiative, driven by Dagan, the Amana movement, and other activists, gained momentum in recent years due to Smotrich's efforts to transfer significant powers from the Civil Administration to Israeli authorities beyond the Green Line.

The government coalition agreement between Likud and Religious Zionism facilitated the repeal of the Disengagement Law, allowing Israelis to return to lands evacuated two decades ago. Kadim is the sixth settlement reestablished in the council's jurisdiction within a year, following cabinet approval during Operation Iron Swords in Iran. The expansion across multiple West Bank locations has compelled the IDF Central Command to prioritize protective measures for settlers, including relocating bases and improving infrastructure access in northern Samaria.

Most families relocating to Kadim come from central Israel and Tel Aviv, many being graduates of Zionist yeshivas and veterans of the Iron Swords war. Dagan declared that the spirit of settlement and the Israeli people is stronger than any withdrawal, promising to grow Kadim twentyfold and strengthen hold on the land. Kadim settlement leader Oz Zohar called the day a national celebration, marking the return to ancestral land 21 years after the evacuation from Gush Katif and northern Samaria, symbolizing an unbreakable bond with the Land of Israel.