Approval for Validation of the Sa-Nur Settlement as Part of Advancing 643 Housing Units in the West Bank

The High Planning Council is scheduled to convene on Wednesday (29 April 2026) to advance plans for 643 housing units across the West Bank. Of these, 126 units are expected to receive final approval (validation) in the settlement of Sa-Nur, located in the Jenin governorate (Plan No. 108/2).

The Sa-Nur settlement was evacuated under Israel’s 2005 Disengagement Plan. In May 2025, the Israeli political-security cabinet decided to re-establish the settlement. Its reestablishment has been made possible following legislative amendments by the current government to the Disengagement Law, including the removal of restrictions on Israeli presence in parts of the northern West Bank.

Celebrations marking the return of settlers to Sa-Nur took place less than two weeks ago, on 19 April 2026, attended by senior government officials, including the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Finance, among others. The plan for Sa-Nur was approved for deposit approximately four months earlier, on 31 December 2025.

The accelerated pace of planning discussions and approvals in this case is relatively exceptional and reflects the Israeli government’s determination to renew settlement activity in the northern West Bank, including in areas where no settler presence has existed for over two decades.

Together with the plan to construct 517 housing units in Masua/Machane Gadi, the total number of housing units approved by the Council in 2026, including the upcoming deliberation, stands at 3,732 units.

Settlement Plans Overview

One of the changes made by the Netanyahu-Smotrich government in June 2023 was the elimination of the need for defense minister approval for each stage of settlement plan advancement. Previously, every construction plan in settlements required prior approval from the defense minister. In recent years, the defense minister had limited settlement plan advancements to approximately four times a year, with thousands of housing units being approved in a single session of the Higher Planning Council. In recent weeks, we have witnessed a change where the Higher Planning Council meets every week and approves several hundred housing units in each meeting. In this way, the government seeks to normalize planning in settlements and attract less public and international attention and criticism.

List of Plans Approved Since January 2026