New city in western Samaria could serve as ‘security belt’ for central Israel, settler leaders argue

A new proposed Israeli city in western Samaria could serve as a security belt for central Israel, Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, and the mayor of Rosh HaAyin said on Monday.

Dagan and Mayor Raz Sagi launched a joint call to establish a new Jewish city in Judea and Samaria, that would be named “East Rosh HaAyin” and located on the foothills at the western edge of Samaria, according to Ynet News.

The new city would house more than 130,000 residents, and Dagan and Sagi proposed to build it on land owned by the state that is currently being used as an agricultural outpost.

It would flank Rosh HaAyin from the east, cutting off direct access to several Palestinian villages in the area, including az-Zawiya, the site of a terror attack only two days ago.

The proposal explicitly referred to the possibility of Oct. 7-style attacks from Judea and Samaria, arguing the new city would be a bulwark along the border that would prevent potential attacks from reaching the densely populated areas of central Israel.

The city would also provide additional housing units relatively close to the center of the country, at a more attractive price than the hotly contested housing market of the greater Tel Aviv area.

Speaking at the Lerner family farm at a spot overlooking Rosh HaAyin, Dagan said, “This farm is already the beginning of Rosh HaAyin’s protective belt.”

“When we stand here and see the city’s rooftops beneath our fingertips, we understand how critical settlement in Samaria is—not only ideologically, but strategically.”

The ridgeline of the Judean and Samarian mountains overlook most of Israel’s population centers, from Beersheba in south to Tel Aviv in the center and Afula in the north.

The Rosh HaAyin and Samaria municipalities have been working for two months on a joint planning framework, envisioning the creation of a continuous urban and rural bloc stretching between the eastern neighborhoods of Rosh HaAyin to the Leshem settlement.

“We must create a chain of farms that will quickly grow into a city—East Rosh HaAyin,” said Mayor Sagi. “We call on the government to start with the eastern neighborhoods and extend all the way to Leshem. This is where we will live and work together.”

Dagan added: “We urge the government to pass an official resolution to establish a new city here that will serve as a real security belt for Israel’s heartland.”

The idea will also be part of the “Million in Samaria” project that Dagan presented over two years ago, before the start of the war.

The plan was submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calls to increase settlement in Samaria to one million Israelis by the year 2050, up from currently around 140,000 and a current number of around 500,000 Israelis living in Judea and Samaria overall.

The plan called for the establishment of 25 new cities with industrial parks, a hospital and possibly an airport.

In May 2025, Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf announced a decision to invest 30 million shekels in the planning of 18 new settlement points, including 13 cities and 5 industrial zones, as part of the plan.

In addition to the new proposal for East Rosh HaAyin, planning has begun for building cities in the evacuated settlement sites of Sa-Nur, Ganim, Kadim and Homesh, towns that were evacuated during Israel’s 2005 disengagement.

Additionally, an outpost will be established on Mount Ebal, the site of Joshua’s Altar.

Want to help more people find our reporting from Israel? Leave a quick Google review of our website here.