The Shomron Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Shomron'', English ''Samaria Regional Council'') is an Israeli regional council in the northern portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Thirty-five

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

s fall under its jurisdiction. As of December 2020 the jurisdiction area of the council has a population of about 47,200 people. The main offices are located in the Barkan Industrial Park. The

international community The international community is a term used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. Usage Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is typically used to imply the ...

considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. Covering 2,800 square kilometers of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, it was, prior to the fall of 2005 when some of its municipal land was abandoned as part of

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan In 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 Israeli settlement, Israeli settlements there. As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well. The disengagement was executed unil ...

, the largest Israeli regional council in municipal area. In August 2015,

Yossi Dagan Yossi Dagan () is an Israeli activist and politician who has been the head of the Shomron Regional Council since August 2015. Dagan grew up in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak in the Pardes Katz neighborhood. When he was in the tenth grade, he mo ...

was elected to position of Chairman of Shomron Regional Council, with 62% of the vote.

Geography

The municipal area of the Council spreads across 2,800 square kilometers, which corresponds to about 10 percent of the area of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

within the Green Line. In municipal area, Shomron Regional Council is among the largest Israeli authorities. Shomron map

The municipal boundaries: *North: the (former) settlements of Ganim and Kadim, reaching to Megiddo Junction. *West: the settlement of Tzofim, reaching to

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

. *South: the settlements of Peduel and Alei Zahav. The Council is divided into geographic regions, where each region has its own characteristics:מועצה איזורית שומרון
Shomron Regional Council *The Northern Shomron region: Hinanit, Hermesh, Tal Menashe, Mevo Dotan, Reihan, Shaked. All the communities are secular, except for Tal Menashe. Population is around 2,000. *Central-Western Shomron: Avnei Hefetz, Barkan, Ma'ale Shomron, Nofim, Sal'it, Einav, Etz Efraim, Peduel, Tzufim, Kiryat Netafim, Revava, Shavei Shomron, Sha'arei Tikva, Yakir: mixed population (secular and religious). Most of the communities are large and well established. If you add to them the

Local Authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in Samaria (

Alfei Menashe Alfei Menashe (, , ''lit.'' Thousands of Tribe of Manasseh, Manasseh) is an Israeli settlement on the western edge of the central West Bank. Built over land confiscated from the nearby State of Palestine, Palestinian villages of Nabi Ilyas, Azzun ...

Elkana Elkana or Elqana () is an Israeli settlement and Local council (Israel), local council in the north-western Samarian hills in the West Bank, located 3.1 km to the east of the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and the city of Rosh HaAyin.

Immanuel Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy o ...

, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Oranit; and the city of Ariel), all of which are located in this region, the Jewish population numbers about 60,000. *Mountain Communities:

Elon Moreh Elon Moreh () is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shomr ...

, Itamar, Har Brakha, Yitzhar (one block, near

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

, population about 3,000), and farther south, Kfar Tapuach, Rehelim, and Migdalim, with less than 1000 residents.

Tourism

The local government and residents of Shomron opened the region to local and international tourism. Boutique wineries, organic farms, historical and biblical sites have developed into tourism attractions. The Jewish Shepherd at Kfar Tapuach, the Barkan Industrial park and hiking tails in the scenic natural reserve at attracting tourists from around the world. Israel's Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin was quoted saying: "I strongly believe in the tourism potential of Samaria. I can tell you from personal experience that I visited Samaria many times, and it might very well be the most beautiful region in Israel".

Sister City

On September 12, 2016, the Town of Hempstead in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

signed a Declaration of Cooperation with the Shomron Regional Council in the Israeli-occupied

, as part of an effort to counter the BDS movement. Council Chairman

, Town Supervisor Anthony Santino, Councilmen Bruce Blakeman, Anthony D'Esposito, and Edward Ambrosino signed the document.

Towns of Shomron

The largest settlement in the Shomron Regional Council today is Sha'arei Tikva, numbering over 5,500 residents.

List of settlements

* Alei Zahav * Avnei Hefetz * Beit El * Barkan * Bruchin * Einav *

* Etz Efraim * Har Bracha * Hermesh * Hinanit * Itamar * Kfar Tapuach * Kiryat Netafim * Ma'ale Shomron * Mevo Dotan * Migdalim * Nofim * Peduel * Rehelim * Reihan * Revava * Sal'it * Sha'arei Tikva * Shaked * Shavei Shomron * Tel Menashe * Tzofim * Yakir * Yitzhar

Razed settlements

During the implementation of

of August/September 2005, the residents of four of the Shomron Regional Council's settlements were evicted, their residential buildings destroyed, and land abandoned to the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

, including territory outlined in the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

as Area 'C' in full

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i control. In northern Shomron: * Ganim * Homesh * Kadim *

Sa-Nur Sa-Nur () was an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, just north of the Palestinian towns of Silat ad-Dhahr and Fandaqumiya, under the administrative jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council until 2005. Prior to its demolition, Sa-Nur was ...

References

External links

Shomron Regional Council website
{{Coord, 32, 14, N, 35, 20, E, display=title Israeli regional councils in the West Bank