Government Approves More Than NIS 1 Billion for Roads to Dozens of New West Bank Communities

The government today (Tuesday) approved a broad budget plan under which more than 1 billion shekels will be allocated for the planning and paving of access roads and security roads for dozens of new communities approved by the cabinet during the war. The plan was formulated after about two months of professional staff work in the Settlement Administration, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Finance.

The total budget stands at 1,075,000,000 shekels, and it will be transferred to the Transportation and Defense ministries. The goal of the decision is to address the immediate need to establish safe and secure access roads for the new communities - infrastructure that, according to the government, cannot be financed through the regular development mechanisms that accompany land marketing.

Among the communities included in the plan are the four communities evacuated as part of the disengagement from northern Samaria - Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim - alongside a long list of additional new communities that will be established. The plan is based on a multi-year framework developed through professional staff work by the Ministry of Transportation, in cooperation with the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.

According to the decision, the budget will be spread over three years and designated for planning and paving new access roads, alongside upgrading existing roads. As part of this, work will also be carried out on road sections outside the communities, with the aim of connecting different communities based on needs that will be defined. It was also determined that in communities in Judea and Samaria, built-in security components will be incorporated as part of the plan.

In addition, if the government approves the establishment or regularization of additional new communities in the area in the future, they will automatically be added to the framework of the approved plan.