Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz Reopen Sa-Nur West Bank Settlement After 21 Years

Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz attended the official reopening of the Sa-Nur settlement in the occupied West Bank, nearly 21 years after the settlement was evacuated in 2005.

“Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz have attended the official reopening of the Sa-Nur settlement in the occupied West Bank, nearly 21 years after the illegal settlement was evacuated in 2005”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reports that Smotrich said, “On this exciting day, we celebrate a historic correction to the criminal expulsion,” at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday, as AFP reported.

Al Jazeera

The same ceremony is described by Arab News as taking place near a cluster of white prefabricated homes arranged in rows on a hilltop, with several cabinet members and lawmakers attending.

Arab News says Sa-Nur’s settlers were evicted in 2005 as part of Israel’s “so-called disengagement policy” that also saw Israel withdraw troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip.

The Straits Times places the settlement in the northern West Bank and says it was one of 19 settlements evacuated under a 2005 disengagement plan, which also included Israel’s withdrawal of settlers from Gaza.

Reuters coverage cited by The Straits Times adds that Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar gathered on April 19 to celebrate the re-establishment of a settlement in neighbouring Sa-Nur.

Multiple outlets also tie the reopening to the broader political messaging around Palestinian statehood, with Al Jazeera reporting Smotrich said Israeli authorities were “burying the idea of a Palestinian state.”

The reopening of Sa-Nur is presented across outlets alongside figures about settlement populations, housing approvals, and the pace of expansion.

Al Jazeera says authorities have approved 126 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement, south of Jenin, and that “16 families have now moved in.”

Arab News

Arab News similarly reports that “Authorities have approved 126 housing units in Sa-Nur alone,” and says Israeli media reported that “16 families had moved into the re-established settlement in recent days.”

The Times of Israel adds that the ceremony was attended by “hundreds of settler activists” and that Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan was one of the “16 families who took up residence anew in the settlement on Sunday.”

The Straits Times reports that Palestinians received demolition orders for 15 shops on April 20, a day after the ministers celebrated the re-establishment of a settlement on a neighbouring hill, and says the release of the latest order was for Al-Fandaqumiya, according to a local official.

It also states that Israel has approved 102 new settlements under the current government, describing this as an “80 per cent increase according to Israeli rights group Peace Now.”

Al Jazeera reports that last month, “34 new settlements were approved,” which, according to Israeli organisation Peace Now, brings the total number of settlements approved since the formation of the government to 104.

At the ceremony, Smotrich and Katz delivered statements that multiple outlets quote directly, linking the reopening to Gaza and to the idea of Palestinian statehood.

“Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich laid out his vision for Israel’s ongoing multi-front campaign during a speech reopening the town of Sa-Nur in northern Samaria”

Israel National News

Al Jazeera reports Smotrich said Israeli authorities were “burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” while Middle East Eye quotes Smotrich saying the decision marks a “national holiday” and “historic correction” to the “sinful expulsion” from the occupied territory.

Arab News quotes Smotrich saying, “We are canceling the shame of the disengagement, burying the idea of a Palestinian state and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur,” and adds that he called for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip as a “security belt” for the State of Israel.

The Times of Israel quotes Smotrich again, saying, “We are abolishing the disgrace of expulsion, killing the idea of ​​the Palestinian state, and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur. This is a day of celebration for the settlement movement and a national holiday for the State of Israel.”

The Times of Israel also reports that the left-wing Peace Now organization called the reestablishment “stupid and wicked,” citing what it said was the increased security burden the move would add to the IDF and the negative impact it would have on the ability of local Palestinians to access their land.

In a separate Israeli outlet, Israel National News quotes Smotrich calling for “the full conquest of the Gaza Strip” and saying, “Without settlement, there will be no security.”

Israel National News also quotes Katz describing IDF operations “to a depth of 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory” and saying, “The supreme goal is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities.”

While the ceremony’s core details—Smotrich and Katz attending, Sa-Nur being reopened after the 2005 evacuation, and 126 housing units with 16 families moving in—appear across outlets, the framing diverges sharply.

Al Jazeera describes the reopening as ministers celebrating a “historic correction” and says Smotrich spoke about “burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” while it also notes that the settlement is one of four former West Bank settlements recently approved by the Israeli government “in violation of international law.”

Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye similarly reports the reopening but emphasizes the political demand that Gaza be occupied, quoting Smotrich calling it a “national holiday” and “historic correction” while also describing his call for restoring settlements in Gaza to create a “security belt for Israel.”

The Straits Times places the event in a wider administrative context by reporting that a Palestinian village received demolition orders for 15 shops on April 20, and it quotes a Palestinian Authority official, Amir Daoud, saying, “This development (in Sa-Nur) raises serious concerns regarding further escalation, restrictions on Palestinian access to land and the deepening of a de facto annexation reality,” in a statement to Reuters.

Arab News frames the reopening through Israeli political rhetoric and settlement policy, quoting Smotrich’s “canceling the shame” language and describing the ceremony near prefabricated homes.

The Times of Israel, while quoting Smotrich’s “national holiday” and “historic correction” language, also foregrounds Peace Now’s condemnation by quoting it as calling the reestablishment “stupid and wicked.”

Across these differences, Hamas’s response in the Saba-linked report adds another frame, describing the reopening as “a dangerous escalation of Judaization” and calling for “a general mobilization to counter the settlement expansion projects.”

The sources connect the Sa-Nur reopening to immediate administrative actions, security measures, and calls for mobilization.

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The Straits Times

The Straits Times reports that the Palestinian village of Al-Fandaqumiya received demolition orders for 15 shops on April 20, and says the demolition orders gave shopkeepers a month’s notice, with the village council head Refaat Qaruriya telling Reuters that Sa-Nur would make life difficult for village residents and that they worried they may no longer be able to access their lands.

The Straits Times

It also says the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest order.

In the Saba-linked report, Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi said the opening constitutes “a dangerous escalation of Judaization” and stressed the need for “a general mobilization to counter the settlement expansion projects,” adding that the inauguration and the presence of settler leaders and representatives of the Zionist enemy government confirm “an unprecedented phase of settlement expansion.”

The same report says Israeli occupation authorities reactivated the “Sanour” settlement, built on lands belonging to the city of Sanour, south of Jenin, and that the ceremony took place under tight police surveillance, with reinforced security measures, secondary roads closed, and movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians in neighboring villages tightened.

Middle East Eye adds that the reopening comes amid a surge in settler violence and cites a United Nations report released on 17 March recording that more than 36,000 Palestinians were displaced in the West Bank between November 2024 and October 2025 amid spiking settler attacks.

The Times of Israel reports that Smotrich said the government is working on legalizing 140 illegally established farming outposts around the West Bank, and it notes that in December Israel expropriated 500 dunams of private land to build a six-kilometer bypass road to reach Sa-Nur without passing through Palestinian villages.