The Samaria Regional Council and the Samaria Development Company announced at a special conference in Sa-Nur that they’re preparing to launch bus services to new communities in northern Samaria starting next year. The move includes purchasing bullet-resistant buses and recruiting new drivers ahead of establishing 18 communities in the area. Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan called the initiative “historic justice” and said, “Northern Samaria has awakened again.”
The move comes after the Samaria Regional Council announced plans to advance the establishment of 18 new communities in northern Samaria, including re-establishing the four communities that were forcibly displaced in the failed 2005 Disengagement, where Jewish communities were thrown out of their homes in a brutal act of policy at the time. The Samaria Council noted that a process to support families who come and live in the new communities has already begun.
The Samaria Development Company is currently preparing to expand operations by purchasing bullet-resistant buses and minibuses, alongside recruiting new drivers among area residents. Additionally, the company is working with the Council’s transportation authority to prepare bus stations, examine traffic routes, and prepare roads for the future transportation system. The company noted it will also take part in infrastructure and development work for the new communities themselves.
The event was held in a triumphant Sa-Nur, which was brought back to life about a month ago after a prolonged struggle lasting nearly two decades. For many participants, it was a symbolic and emotional moment, especially for veteran drivers who previously transported residents on northern Samaria routes before the disengagement.
One story that elicited an emotional response during the conference was that of Moshe Shuster, a veteran company driver and former Sa-Nur resident, who returned to transport children in the area where he once lived. According to participants, the presence of veteran drivers who returned to operate in the area illustrated the sense of “closing the circle” that accompanied the event.
Governor Dagan said during the conference, “This ceremony here is historic justice. This justice is not being done in darkness, but in a sovereign manner by the State of Israel, in cooperation with all state bodies and in full coordination with the IDF and the security establishment.”
Samaria Development Company chairman Pershan added, “To hold the ceremony specifically here in Sa-Nur and to lead a historic step of establishing transportation services in all northern Samaria communities—this is a historic closing of the loop.”
Company CEO Rubi Talman presented the preparation plan and thanked the drivers for their activity during complex security periods. According to Talman, “The company’s drivers are those who ensure the routine of Samaria’s children even in challenging times.”