Two years after repealing the Disengagement Law, Bezalel Smotrich pushes to reinstate more northern Samaria settlements, framing it as part of Israel’s post–October 7 security doctrine.
Two years after the repeal of the Disengagement Law, Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich announced a fresh push to resettle northern Samaria communities evacuated in 2005—this time, Ganim and Kadim.
These communities will join Homesh and Sa-Nur, which have already received government approval for renewed Jewish presence.
“We are working on this now,” Smotrich told the Ofek weekend newsletter. “We are deciding to bring Ganim and Kadim as well, and I hope this will happen in the coming weeks, helping to correct the sin of the expulsion. The people of Israel are correcting the sin in Gaza, and I hope we will succeed there too—completing the correction of the sin in northern Samaria.”
From Gush Katif to October 7
Smotrich recalled his own activism during the 2005 Gaza disengagement:
“I was arrested by the Shin Bet because I tried to prevent the events of October 7. We warned Gaza would become a terror capital, that missiles would rain down from there. And we were right.”
He criticized past leaders’ assurances of deterrence:
“They dared again and again, and we got de-legitimization and the horrors of October 7. That’s what happens when you run away and hide behind walls and fences.”
Security Belt Strategy
According to Smotrich, October 7 has reshaped national policy toward Judea and Samaria.
“The vast majority of Israelis now understand that Judea and Samaria are Israel’s security belt—so that Kfar Saba will not be another Kfar Aza, Netanya will not be another Be’eri, and Nitzanei Oz will not, God forbid, be another Nahal Oz.”
‘Erasing the Idea of a Palestinian State’
Smotrich was explicit about the broader political objective:
“What we are achieving in this term is simply erasing the idea of a Palestinian state. Eventually, with God’s help, we will do it officially—but first de facto, through population growth, settlements, normalization, construction, infrastructure, and the declaration of state lands. We are removing this idea from the table and establishing facts on the ground.”
If implemented, the return to Ganim and Kadim would mark another significant reversal of the 2005 disengagement policy—and a further entrenchment of Israeli presence in disputed territories.Two years after the repeal of the Disengagement Law, Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich announced a fresh push to resettle northern Samaria communities evacuated in 2005—this time, Ganim and Kadim.
These communities will join Homesh and Sa-Nur, which have already received government approval for renewed Jewish presence.
“We are working on this now,” Smotrich told the Ofek weekend newsletter. “We are deciding to bring Ganim and Kadim as well, and I hope this will happen in the coming weeks, helping to correct the sin of the expulsion. The people of Israel are correcting the sin in Gaza, and I hope we will succeed there too—completing the correction of the sin in northern Samaria.”
From Gush Katif to October 7
Smotrich recalled his own activism during the 2005 Gaza disengagement:
“I was arrested by the Shin Bet because I tried to prevent the events of October 7. We warned Gaza would become a terror capital, that missiles would rain down from there. And we were right.”
He criticized past leaders’ assurances of deterrence:
“They dared again and again, and we got de-legitimization and the horrors of October 7. That’s what happens when you run away and hide behind walls and fences.”
Security Belt Strategy
According to Smotrich, October 7 has reshaped national policy toward Judea and Samaria.
“The vast majority of Israelis now understand that Judea and Samaria are Israel’s security belt—so that Kfar Saba will not be another Kfar Aza, Netanya will not be another Be’eri, and Nitzanei Oz will not, God forbid, be another Nahal Oz.”
‘Erasing the Idea of a Palestinian State’
Smotrich was explicit about the broader political objective:
“What we are achieving in this term is simply erasing the idea of a Palestinian state. Eventually, with God’s help, we will do it officially—but first de facto, through population growth, settlements, normalization, construction, infrastructure, and the declaration of state lands. We are removing this idea from the table and establishing facts on the ground.”
If implemented, the return to Ganim and Kadim would mark another significant reversal of the 2005 disengagement policy—and a further entrenchment of Israeli presence in disputed territories.
