Media sources have revealed extensive movements led by the so-called 'Regional Settlement Council - Samaria' to launch a massive settlement project named 'The Connection Plan'. This project aims to bring about a radical demographic and geographic change in the occupied northern West Bank by establishing 18 new settlements in strategic areas.
The plan includes the reconstruction of four settlements that the occupation army evacuated in 2005 as part of the famous 'Disengagement Plan', namely Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim. This step comes after intensive legal and political efforts to cancel the restrictions imposed on settlers' entry to these areas for nearly two decades.
Sources reported that the Settlement Council has been promoting this return for many months, with the plan including the construction of 14 entirely new settlements in addition to the four reactivated ones. Some of these projects have already received official government approvals, while the remaining sites await final political decisions to begin construction work.
On the ground, the 'Samaria' Council, in cooperation with the 'Amana' settlement movement, has begun forming family nuclei of settlers ready for immediate relocation to the targeted lands. The first phases of actual settlement are expected to begin next summer, as part of an accelerated timeline imposed by the right-wing forces in the government.
'The Connection Plan' is an integral part of a broader strategic vision that carries the slogan 'A Million in Samaria', which aims to raise the number of settlers in the northern West Bank to one million people. This vision relies on canceling all provisions of the Disengagement Law and providing a massive infrastructure capable of accommodating these large numbers of new settlers.
The proposed projects are not limited to residential units only, but also include the construction of integrated urban communities with advanced educational, religious, and Torah institutions. The plan also notes a diversification in the nature of the settlers, as settlements designated for secular individuals, such as 'Mitzpe Yam' and 'Alonei Shomron', will be established to ensure the expansion of support for the project.
This settlement project is being implemented in full and direct coordination with the Ministries of Army, Finance, and Housing in the occupation government, which provides it with official cover and huge budgets. Yossi Dagan, head of the Settlement Council, stated that the goal is to entrench the Jewish presence in the region and prevent any possibility of future withdrawal.
About a month ago, the area witnessed a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the reconstructed 'Sa-Nur' settlement, with the participation of prominent ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz. The participating ministers considered the return to these areas to be an official government policy aimed at strengthening settlement activity deep within Palestinian territories.
In a related context, estimates by the 'Peace Now' movement indicate that the number of settlers in the West Bank has already exceeded half a million settlers, not including settlers in Jerusalem. These figures confirm the magnitude of the challenges facing the two-state solution in light of the continuous and systematic settlement expansion practiced by the occupation authorities.
For its part, international and UN institutions continue to affirm that all settlement activities in the occupied territories are considered illegal and violate international law and the Geneva Conventions. Despite repeated international demands to stop settlement, the occupation continues to impose new realities on the ground that undermine the chances of establishing a contiguous Palestinian state.
The goal of the plan is to strengthen the settlement presence and provide a practical alternative to the concept of withdrawal from the occupied territories.




