19 New Settlements Approved in Judea and Samaria

Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved the declaration and formal regulation of 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria, a move described by its sponsors as historic and unprecedented in scope.

The decision was advanced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz. According to officials involved in the proposal, the newly approved communities are spread across five regional councils and are considered strategically significant for Israel’s settlement map.

Among the most prominent decisions is the reestablishment of Ganim and Kadim in northern Samaria. The two communities were evacuated during Israel’s 2005 disengagement and their approval is being framed by coalition leaders as a correction of what they describe as a historic injustice. Their return follows the cabinet’s earlier approval, in May 2025, of Homesh and Sa-Nur, also evacuated in the disengagement.

The 19 newly approved settlements are distributed as follows: six in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, seven in the Samaria Regional Council, three in Gush Etzion, two in the Jordan Valley, and one in the Mount Hebron area. With this decision, the government says it has approved and regulated a total of 69 new settlements in Judea and Samaria over the past three years, a figure officials describe as an all-time record.

Smotrich welcomed the decision, saying it reflects a renewed national commitment to settlement and sovereignty. He said the return of Ganim and Kadim after two decades represents both a moral and ideological milestone, and argued that expanding settlement activity strengthens Israel’s hold on the territory and prevents the establishment of what he called a “terror state.”

Local councils also praised the move, emphasizing the strategic importance of several of the sites. In Gush Etzion, officials noted that one of the newly recognized communities sits near a former military base and is intended to create greater continuity between existing Jewish communities and Jerusalem.

The decision is expected to generate international criticism, as similar moves in the past have drawn condemnation from foreign governments and international bodies. Within Israel, however, coalition leaders portrayed the approval as a defining achievement of the current government’s settlement policy and signaled that further development efforts are likely to follow.