After two months of professional work at the administration regulating civil services in Judea and Samaria, the government approved Tuesday a massive budget led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich totaling over 1 billion shekels (~$275 million) to pave access roads and security routes to dozens of new settlements the cabinet authorized throughout the war. Among them are four communities evacuated from northern Samaria: Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim, along with a broad array of communities to be established.
2+The decision aims to address the immediate need for safe and secure access roads, which cannot be funded through the regular channels of development costs as part of land marketing. It follows a detailed multi-year plan developed through professional staff work by the Transportation Ministry, in coordination with the administration in the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry. The total sum of the decision is 1,075,000,000 shekels to be transferred to the Transportation and Defense ministries.
Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich said: “The historic decision we approved will enable the establishment of dozens of settlements at strategic points in Judea and Samaria. We are leading a settlement-security revolution, with over 100 settlements and 160 farms that fortify Israel’s security and will kill the terrible idea of establishing a terror state in the heart of the State of Israel.”
2+According to the minister, “Facing the Eisenkot government’s plans to evacuate the new communities we established, the multi-year plan we are advancing will ensure planning and paving of new access roads, upgrading existing routes and connecting between communities, alongside integrating critical security components. We are working decisively together with all ministries to remove obstacles and obtain the required approvals to ensure safe and orderly movement in the new communities.”
2+The budget is spread over three years and will include planning and paving new access roads and improving existing roads, including segments outside the settlements connecting between different settlements as needed. For communities in Judea and Samaria, the plan will also include built-in security components, and if the government decides to establish or regularize additional new communities in Judea and Samaria, they will be automatically included in this program.