Israel’s Cabinet voted Saturday night to formally recognize 13 neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria as independent communities, enabling them to receive direct government funding and municipal services.
. Till now, the neighborhoods — some decades-old — were part of already-existing “mother communities.”
“We continue, with God’s help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlement,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who spearheaded the initiative. “This is another important step on the way to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
The newly designated villages — spread across the Binyamin, Samaria, Gush Etzion, Megilot, and Jordan Valley regional councils — are home to thousands of residents.