Israeli authorities on Sunday, July 13, granted city status to the Jerusalem suburb of Givat Ze’ev, officially making it the fifth Jewish city in Judea and Samaria. The declaration, signed by Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command, came after initial approvals by the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Administration and the Interior Ministry, Arutz 7 reported.

Givat Ze’ev, located in Samaria some three miles northwest of Jerusalem, has more than 35,000 residents, and the new municipal status is intended to allow for further growth.

Mayor Yossi Asraf called the move “a historic moment” for Givat Ze’ev, saying city status would help strengthen municipal services and manage the community’s expansion plans.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a second minister in the Defense Ministry tasked with civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria, welcomed the decision.

“The declaration of Givat Ze’ev as a city is part of a broader policy we have been leading in recent years to reinforce and strengthen settlement through the establishment of dozens of new communities, the legalization of farms, declarations of state land and now a new city—Givat Ze’ev,” Smotrich stated.

Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing Judea and Samaria residents, noted that Givat Ze’ev had become the fifth city in the region, after Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit and Ma’ale Adumim in Judea, and Ariel in Samaria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Israel’s control of Judea and Samaria, having approved tens of thousands of homes and dozens of new communities in the past three-and-a-half years.

Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing Judea and Samaria residents, noted that Givat Ze’ev had become the fifth city in the region, after Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit and Ma’ale Adumim in Judea, and Ariel in Samaria.