In coordination with the IDF and with approval from the political leadership, an additional settlement was established Sunday in Samaria. After weeks of preparation, several families arrived with caravans and equipment to settle the site and begin establishing a new community named Rehavam.
The establishment of the settlement was approved by the Cabinet in a decision taken in May last year, together with 21 other communities, some of which were approved retroactively. Rehavam, named after Rehavam Ze’evi, is located in the heart the northern West Bank, slightly east of the settlement of Migdalim and near Route 505. The families arrived following a series of discussions and coordination with the IDF Central Command. As part of the move to the site, caravans were placed in the area for the core families.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent his congratulations on the establishment of the settlement, saying: “We are working hard to ensure that the many decisions on establishing and formalizing new communities do not remain on paper but take shape and become reality, and we are investing major efforts and significant budgets in this.”
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, said at the ground-breaking ceremony: “‘When God restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like dreamers’ — and we are privileged not only to dream, but together to make those dreams a reality. Even amid all the hardships of the war, we are bringing the people of Israel to a settlement victory here on the ground. We are working in Samaria according to an orderly plan: one million residents in Samaria.”
According to Dagan: “My teacher and mentor Rehavam Ze’evi, as head of the Central Command immediately after the Six-Day War, was the first to prepare a master plan for settlement in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip. The communities we are establishing now are also based on the plan Rehavam Ze’evi wrote.”
Hanania Nachliel of the Amana movement added: “I have been involved in settlement for 30 years, and I do not remember a period like this. Well done. When we all mobilize together, we do great things. Settlement is security.”
Ariel and Noam Mishilker, who moved into the new community Sunday, said: “We came to establish a new settlement. It is a happy and exciting feeling. We hope it will grow and spread across the entire area and open spaces.”
Rehavam is located along the Trans-Samaria Highway, north of Migdalim. Establishing a new settlement along the route strengthens the settlement continuity promoted by the government. The creation of new communities from scratch is a trend expected to gain momentum as 2026 progresses. About a week ago, ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth reported that settlement leaders are aiming this year, ahead of elections, to move settlement nuclei onto as many Cabinet-approved sites as possible.
The tactic of a rapid move to a site with manpower and equipment to create communities on the ground is well known among settlers, who view it as a way of setting facts on the ground. In addition to the move to Rehavam, settlers are expected to establish a presence in Sa-Nur during the Purim holiday and in various communities declared in the Jordan Valley, including Allenby and Ir HaTamarim, as well as in areas of Binyamin, Gush Etzion and the Hebron Hills.