Minister declares death of Palestinian state as Samaria town resettled

First 16 families move into Sa-Nur, an Israeli town in Samaria evacuated in 2005 and reestablished two decades later.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

An Israeli town in Samaria that was evacuated more than 20 years ago was officially resettled on Sunday during a ceremony celebrating the first 16 families to move into the newly reestablished town.

The event was hosted by the Samaria Regional Council in the town of Sa-Nur, which was evacuated as part of the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Plan before being reestablished by the Netanyahu government.

Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan, who was among those who moved into Sa-Nur on Sunday, led the ceremony and was joined by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz for the ribbon-cutting marking the official opening of the town.

Dagan, a former resident of Sa-Nur prior to the Disengagement, said at the ceremony that he had dedicated his life to reversing the Disengagement.

Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich also took part in the ceremony, calling for Israel to fully conquer the Gaza Strip and to establish Israeli settlements there.

Speaking at the inauguration of the rebuilt community, Smotrich said criticism from the left over the lack of an “exit strategy” amounted to a call for surrender.

“They criticize us from the left over the absence of a concluding diplomatic leg,” Smotrich said. “These critics mean the diplomatic leg to which they have become accustomed — one of surrender and defeat that erases the military achievements.”

He said instead that Israel should pursue what he called a “diplomatic leg of victory.”

“We, by contrast, demand advancing a diplomatic leg of victory that anchors the military achievements, expands the borders of the state into defensible borders on all fronts, and fortifies Israel’s security,” he said.

“Instead of handing over territory to the enemy — take territory from the enemy!”

Against the backdrop of reports that Hamas had rejected an ultimatum from President Donald Trump to disarm and demilitarize Gaza, Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate both military and political steps immediately.

“I call on the prime minister to instruct the IDF to prepare immediately for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip and the central camps,” Smotrich said.

He also called for “establishing Israeli control over the entire territory of the Strip and the establishment of Israeli settlement there.”

“Without settlement there will be no security,” he said. “For 100 years it has been proven: where the plow passes, there pass the border and security. The War of Revival must end with the expansion of the borders of the State of Israel.”

Smotrich added that the government’s expansion of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria was “killing the idea of Palestinian statehood.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz also spoke at the ceremony, outlining Israel’s position on the northern front and announcing a major plan to strengthen military infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.

According to Katz, the IDF is currently deployed 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanese territory, from the coast to Mount Hermon, in order to prevent anti-tank fire and raids on northern Israeli communities.

“We instructed the IDF to act with full force, from the ground and from the air, even during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat,” Katz said.

“Any structure that threatens our forces and any route suspected of containing explosives must be destroyed immediately,” he added.

“If the Lebanese government continues not to meet its obligation, the IDF will do so through continued military activity,” Katz added. “That is how we will act also regarding high-trajectory fire north of the Litani and throughout Lebanon. The IDF is prepared to continue the mission: we promised security to the residents of the north — and that is what we will do.”