Israeli Ministers Officially Reopen Evacuated West Bank Settlement
Israeli ministers on Sunday officially reopened the Sa-Nur settlement in the occupied West Bank, marking a significant reversal of the 2005 disengagement policy. The ceremony, attended by several cabinet members and lawmakers, featured defiant declarations against Palestinian statehood and calls to resettle the Gaza Strip.
Defiant Ceremony Marks Historic Correction
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right minister and settler himself, declared during the celebration near white prefabricated homes on a hilltop, "We are canceling the shame of the disengagement, burying the idea of a Palestinian state and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur." He described the reopening as "a historic correction to the criminal expulsion from Northern Samaria," using the Israeli biblical term for part of the West Bank.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also attended the event, underscoring the government's commitment to settlement expansion. The current Israeli government, considered one of the most right-wing in the country's history, had previously approved the reconstruction of all four northern West Bank settlements evacuated in 2005.
Background of the 2005 Disengagement
Sa-Nur's settlers were evicted in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement policy, which also saw the country withdraw troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip. Promoted by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the policy was framed as a security measure intended to reduce Israel's civilian and military footprint in densely populated Palestinian areas.
Now, authorities have approved 126 housing units in Sa-Nur alone, with Israeli media reporting that 16 families had moved into the re-established settlement in recent days. The new residents include Yossi Dagan, head of the northern West Bank Settlements Council, who was among those evacuated from Sa-Nur in 2005.
Personal and National Significance
"For me, this is both a national and a personal closing of a circle," Dagan said after cutting the ribbon at the ceremony. "No more uprootings, no more retreats. We have returned to stay." His statement reflects the emotional and political weight of the settlement's reopening for many Israeli settlers.
Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and settlement expansion has been a policy under successive Israeli governments.
Accelerated Settlement Expansion
However, this expansion has accelerated significantly under the current coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to activists and authorities, more than 100 settlements have been approved since the government came to power in 2022.
Smotrich further called for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip as a "security belt" for the State of Israel, highlighting the government's broader territorial ambitions. This move comes amid ongoing tensions and international criticism of Israeli settlement policies in the occupied territories.
The reopening of Sa-Nur not only symbolizes a reversal of past policies but also signals a hardening stance against Palestinian aspirations for statehood, with implications for regional stability and international diplomacy.
