IDF order could kick off big expansion of Judea and Samaria cities

The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria surpassed half a million people, according to a report published almost one year ago.

By JNS

An order signed by IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth on Sunday could kick-start a massive surge in building throughout cities in Judea and Samaria.

The military order—which extends the application of legislation related to urban renewal that was previously only in effect within the Jewish state’s pre-1967 lines to Judea and Samaria—could allow for the building of tens of thousands of housing units in the region’s larger cities such as Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit, Ma’ale Adumim and Ariel.

Municipalities in Judea and Samaria can now approve urban renewal projects through shortened planning procedures that do not require political approval.

Under the framework, construction projects in Judea and Samaria will reportedly also benefit from significant tax benefits under existing laws.

The move was a joint project of the Construction and Housing Ministry, the Defense Ministry and its Civil Administration, the Authority for Urban Renewal, the Israel Tax Authority and other Israeli agencies.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry responsible for civilian issues in Judea and Samaria, told Israel Hayom that normalizing the area is a “critical national task.”

“The most important part of this order is that it creates normalization: One law for Efrat and Ra’anana,” he said. According to Smotrich, the order “will allow for the continuation of urban development in Judea and Samaria, just as it is happening in the rest of the State of Israel.”

Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf said in a statement, “The approval of the order allows companies and entrepreneurs to promote urban renewal and construction projects in Israeli local authorities in Judea and Samaria.

“Judea and Samaria, the birthplace of the Bible, are an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” Goldknopf said, adding that the change will “contribute to strengthening security in all parts of the country and increase the supply of apartments, which will help solve the housing shortage.”

The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria surpassed half a million people, according to a report published almost one year ago. There were 502,991 Jews living in Judea and Samaria as of Jan. 1, according to the report, which cited data from the Interior Ministry.

The 500,000-plus Jews living beyond the 1967 Green Line account for some 12% of all Jews in the Jewish state.

The natural growth of the Jewish population in Judea and Samaria is expected to result in a population in excess of 600,000 by 2030, 700,000 by 2035 and one million by 2047, the report added.

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