Defense Minister Katz: We are rebuilding Sanur and 21 more communities in Judea and Samaria
Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the community of Sanur on Friday, accompanied by Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan, Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Civil Administration Head Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, and Defense Minister’s Military Secretary Brig. Gen. Guy Markizano, following the Cabinet’s decision to establish 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, including Homesh and Sanur.
“I came here today to reconnect with my national and personal roots. I served in Sanur as a paratrooper recruit and fought against the uprooting of the community during the Disengagement Plan. I promised then that we would return — and today, we are returning with the decision to reestablish this community, along with 21 other new communities in Judea and Samaria,” Katz stated. “This is a historic moment for settlement in Judea and Samaria, strengthening it as Israel’s defensive wall and bolstering security in the region.”
He added, “This is a crushing response to the terror organizations that seek to weaken our hold on this land — and it is also a clear message to [French President Emmanuel] Macron and his associates: they may recognize a Palestinian state on paper, but we are building the Jewish-Israeli state on the ground. That paper will be cast into the dustbin of history, while the State of Israel will flourish and thrive.”
“Do not threaten us with sanctions — you will not bring us to our knees. The State of Israel will not bow its head before threats. We are a people with a long and glorious history. We will stand tall and continue to lead the State of Israel on a strong and secure path — until victory.”
Katz expressed gratitude to his partners in the initiative: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Cabinet ministers who supported and approved the decision. He also praised Yossi Dagan, “who himself was uprooted from Sanur and today returns here as the head of the council.”
Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan said: “As someone who was expelled from Sanur with his family and has dreamed for nearly 20 years — day and night — of returning, I am deeply moved to be here on a serious professional tour to plan in an orderly fashion how to implement the government’s decision to return here.”
“From the beginning of Zionism, where there is settlement, there is security. Where there is no settlement, there is terrorism — until we arrived at the seventh of October. I want to thank Defense Minister Israel Katz for his drive, leadership, dedication, professionalism, and sincerity; and to Minister Bezalel Smotrich who led this great endeavor alongside Minister Katz and does holy work for the settlement enterprise — especially here in Sanur. And of course, to the Prime Minister, the government of Israel, and no less to the families who were expelled from Homesh and Sanur.”
