The Tender Committee announced today (Monday) the list of companies awarded contracts to build 22 new cellular sites across Judea and Samaria. The sites are expected to be completed within eight months in key areas.
Main locations include Route 90 in the Jordan Valley, Route 1 leading to the Dead Sea, the Gush Etzion area, Mount Hebron, Binyamin, and Samaria. The Ministry of Communications stated that this is the first stage of a broader plan that will later include dozens more sites.
Improving Communication Coverage
Many areas in Judea and Samaria suffer from partial or poor cellular coverage, particularly along major highways and in isolated regions. This lack of reliable communication has harmed civilian quality of life, disrupted medical services, and impeded normal economic activity. The project is intended to address the need for comprehensive cellular coverage in these areas, which have been designated as both security and civilian priorities.
Poor reception has also hindered emergency calls during terror attacks, car accidents, and other emergencies. Expanding coverage will improve communication along major roads and in remote communities, enhance the quality of life for residents, and strengthen emergency alert and response capabilities.
Strengthening Sovereignty
The tender was published in December 2024 following a year and a half of professional discussions and joint work by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communications. Representatives from the Settlement Administration, the Civil Administration, Communications and Postal Services Officer, and the Ministry of Communications took part in the planning to ensure a professional and technological solution for deploying advanced cellular infrastructure and securing budgetary arrangements.
The initiative now underway is expected to significantly improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents. Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said: “The establishment of dozens of new cellular sites throughout Judea and Samaria is another link in the chain of strengthening settlement and deepening sovereignty over the territory.” He emphasized that building these sites is not only a civilian necessity but “first and foremost a security need, a matter of saving lives.”
Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi added that after two and a half years of stagnation in establishing new cellular sites, “now the great wave is arriving.”
He noted that the construction of new antennas would further strengthen Israeli sovereignty on the ground.
