Israel reopens West Bank settlement

Published 2026-04-19 19.43

          

          The old settlement of Sa-Nur has been rebuilt and inaugurated by Israeli authorities. Photo: Marco              Longari/AFP/TT

An illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank that was evacuated 20 years ago has been rebuilt and inaugurated by Israeli ministers.

– We are ending the shame of withdrawal, burying the idea of ​​a Palestinian state and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur, said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during the inauguration ceremony on Sunday.

The Sa-Nur settlement, which is illegal under international law in the northern West Bank, was emptied and evacuated by Israeli authorities in 2005, under the leadership of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israel's current government, one of the most right-wing in the country's history, has approved the reconstruction of four closed settlements in the northern West Bank. In Sa-Nur alone, this involves 126 homes.