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Offices of the Shomron R.C.
Shomron Regional Council emblem
The Shomron Regional Council (Hebrew:מועצה אזורית שומרון) is a regional council in the northern Samarian hills, also known as the northern part of the northern half of the West Bank. The offices of the regional council are located in the Barkan Industrial Park. This regional council provides various municipal services for the 30 Israeli settlements within its territory, with a population of about 20,000 people.
The largest community in the Shomron Regional Council today is Sharei Tikva, numbering more than 1000 families, and the youngest is Nofei Nechemia, numbering 12 families.
The municipal area of the Council spreads across 2,800 square kilometers (about 10% of the area of the State of Israel). According to its municipal area, the Shomron Regional Council is among the largest authorities in Israel.
In November 2007, Gershon Masika was elected the Head of the Shomron Regional Council. The previous head, Benzi Lieberman stepped down from the position, as well as from being the head of the Yesha Council. [1]
[edit] Geography
The municipal boundaries:
The Council is divided into geographic regions, where each region has its own characteristics:[2]
- The Northern Shomron region:
Ganim, Kadim, Hinanit, Homesh, Hermesh, Tal-Menashe, Mevo Dotan, Reichan, Sanur, Shaked. All the communities are secular, except for Tal-Menashe. Population is around 2000 people.
- Central-Western Shomron: Avnei-Hefetz, Barkan, Ma’aleh Shomron, Nofim, Selait, Einav, Etz Efraim, Peduel, Tzufim, Kiryat Netafim, Revava, Shavei Shomron, Sharei Tikva: mixed population (secular and religious). Most of the communities are large and well established. If you add to them the Local Authorities in the Shomron (Alfei Menashe, Elkana, Immanuel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Oranit; and the city of Ariel), all of which are located in this region, the Jewish population numbers about 60,000 people.
- Mountain Communities: Elon Moreh, Itamar, Har Bracha, Yitzhar (one block, near Nablus, population about 3000), and farther south, Kefar Tapuach, Rechalim, Nofei Nechemia and Migdalim, with less than 1000 residents.
The West Bank Barrier is planned to enclose on the Israeli side all of the Central-Western Shomron settlements except for the three northernmost, Avnei Hefetz, Einav, and Shavei Shomron, and four Northern Shomron settlements (all the remaining ones other than the two southernmost, Hermesh and Mevo Dotan), but not any of the Mountain Communities.
[edit] List of settlements
[edit] List of abandoned 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. The Shomron Regional Council had been the largest Israeli regional council until the fall of 2005 when a large part of its municipal land was effectively abandoned.
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