Shomron_Regional_Council

Shomron Regional Council

Shomron Regional Council

An Israeli regional council in the northern West Bank


The Shomron Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית שומרון, 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 settlements fall under its jurisdiction.[2] As of December 2020 the jurisdiction area of the council has a population of about 47,200 people.[3] The main offices are located in the Barkan Industrial Park.

Quick Facts מועצה אזורית שומרון‎, Country ...

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[4]

Covering 2,800 square kilometers of the West Bank, it was, prior to the fall of 2005 when some of its municipal land was abandoned as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, the largest Israeli regional council in municipal area.

In August 2015, Yossi Dagan was elected to position of Chairman of Shomron Regional Council, with 62% of the vote.[5]

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

Map of communities of Shomron regional council. "Schechem" is Hebrew for Nablus

The municipal boundaries:

The Council is divided into geographic regions, where each region has its own characteristics:[6]

Tourism

The local government and residents of Shomron opened the region to local and international tourism. Boutique wineries,[7] 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".[8]

Sister City

On September 12, 2016, the Town of Hempstead in New York signed a Declaration of Cooperation with the Shomron Regional Council in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as part of an effort to counter the BDS movement.[9][10] Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, 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

Razed settlements

During the implementation of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan 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, including territory outlined in the Oslo Accords as Area 'C' in full Israeli control.

In northern Shomron:


References

  1. "Locality File". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2011. Archived from the original (XLS) on September 23, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  2. (Hebrew). "The Shomron Regional Council website". Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  4. LAZAROFF, TOVAH (5 August 2015). "Yossi Dagan wins election to head Samaria Regional Counci". Jerusalem Post.
  5. מועצה איזורית שומרון Shomron Regional Council Archived November 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Times of Israel. "Settlement winery touts vino with a biblical vintage". Retrieved Sep 19, 2015.
  7. Colapietro, Diana "Town creates ‘sister’ relationship with Israeli region. Hempstead officials reaffirm their anti-BDS stance and support for the Jewish state" LI Herald September 14, 2016 http://www.liherald.com/stories/Town-creates-sister-relationship-with-Israeli-region,83694

32°14′N 35°20′E


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Shomron_Regional_Council, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.