At a conference held last week at the Ramada Hotel in Jerusalem, dozens of public figures and local leaders from across Judea and Samaria gathered to discuss a settlement plan promoted by the Yesha Council and Knesset Member Avichai Boaron. Among its proposals is the construction of four new cities, including a Druze city, as reported yesterday morning (Sunday) by Israel Hayom.
Seizing Opportunities
“We are in a window of opportunity that we can either use wisely or foolishly,” said MK Avichai Boaron at the conference. “If we use it foolishly, in four years, we’ll have 700,000 residents and an additional number of homes. If we use it wisely, we’ll create the conditions to make Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley an inseparable part of Israel—not just by making it hard to relocate residents, but by fundamentally changing the operational framework.”
On the Agenda: Extending Sovereignty Over Area C
A key aspect of the plan is the application of Israeli sovereignty over Area C and removing the “two-state solution” from the lexicon, according to the report.
Boaron noted that the Arab population in Judea and Samaria would instead be concentrated into several municipal authorities to manage themselves, receive services from Israel, and pay for them, with their status akin to that of Jerusalem Arabs. This approach, according to MK Boaron, is critical to preventing the next October 7-style massacre. “We must not allow terrorist militias to run amok. It will explode on us like October 7 but at much closer distances—from Hebron to Arad and Be’er Sheva, from Qalqilya to Kfar Saba. We need to dismantle this structure, including the Palestinian central government, and turn it into municipal authorities under a federal administration.”
Judea and Samaria to Be Treated Like the Galilee, Negev, and Coastal Plain
Another issue raised at the conference was the extension of Israeli law to Judea and Samaria. “We need to change the operational framework. Apply Israeli law, bring government ministries into the area, build energy, gas, and transportation infrastructure, and establish industrial, commercial, and transportation zones. We need to take control of open spaces to manage them under Israeli sovereignty.”
Proposal: Four New Cities, Including a Druze City and an Ultra-Orthodox City
Regarding the construction of new cities and the development of existing settlements, the initiative includes establishing three to four new cities in Judea and Samaria, including a Druze city and an Ultra-Orthodox city. The proposal also calls for developing settlements in strategic locations and upgrading them to city status, supported by government budget allocations. Suggested locations include Ma’ale Ephraim, Nahliel, Kiryat Arba, and Efrat.
There was broad agreement that the four years of Trump’s term should be utilized for significant construction efforts.
