Electricity Restored to Israeli Settlement Evacuated in 2005 Disengagement

Twenty-one years after the disengagement from Gush Katif and northern Samaria, the settlement of 'Ganim' in northern Samaria, evacuated as part of the plan, has been re-established. On Sunday, an electricity meter was raised, officially restoring regulated power to the community. The ceremony was attended by Yossi Dagan, Head of the Shomron Regional Council, community representatives, and officials from the Israel Electric Corporation.

Ganim was one of four settlements in northern Samaria evacuated during the 2005 disengagement, alongside Homesh, Sa-Nur, and Kadim. As part of a renewed settlement initiative in the region, the 'Connection Plan' began several months ago. Led by the Shomron Regional Council, the Amuna movement, and government ministries, this plan aims to establish 19 new settlements in the Samaria region, primarily in the north. Eleven settlements have already been established in the past eight months, including the four evacuated in 2005.

Yossi Dagan stated, "21 years after the expulsion, in place of four uprooted settlements, 11 settlements have already been established as part of the 'Connection Plan.' We are here as emissaries of the State of Israel, with all state authorities returning the light here. We are raising the switch, and with great excitement, reconnecting Ganim to the State of Israel's electricity infrastructure, on the way to building a large settlement. This is the greatest Zionist and security correction."

Minister of Energy and Cabinet member Eli Cohen welcomed the move, saying, "We are correcting the disengagement, erasing the Green Line, and continuing to advance sovereignty in practice! Connecting the settlements of northern Samaria to electricity infrastructure is an important step in deepening our hold on the ancestral lands, on the way to a million residents in Judea and Samaria."

Meir Spiegler, CEO of the Israel Electric Corporation, affirmed the company's commitment, stating, "The Israel Electric Corporation is acting according to government decisions and deploying the necessary infrastructure for electricity supply to settlements, including in Kadim and Ganim. Our employees are well aware of the importance of electricity in everyone's lives, and the goal is to supply it before the houses and public institutions are populated."