First Regional-Council Umbrella Agreement Signed for 12,000 Samaria Homes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Housing Minister Haim Katz and Israel Land Authority director Yehuda Eliyahu signed the first Israeli umbrella agreement with a regional council, committing more than NIS 8 billion to Samaria Regional Council development and about 12,000 new housing units. Around NIS 1.5 billion will fund strategic infrastructure, while roughly NIS 7 billion will go to public institutions, utilities, and neighborhood infrastructure. Council head Yosef Dagan said the deal accelerates rebuilding 18 communities in northern Samaria and advances his "million residents in Samaria" target. Smotrich called the signing a further step in the government's settlement expansion across Judea and Samaria.