(JNS) Touring the newly established Shir LeDavid Farm in western Samaria, Sovereignty Movement co-chair Nadia Matar praised the farmers’ work.

Situated near the city of Rosh HaAyin in central Israel, Shir LeDavid, just east of the security barrier, is dedicated to the memory of IDF contractor David Libi, killed in Gaza in May 2025.

Matar warned, however, that the farmers’ efforts remain fragile and could be undone without the implementation of full Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

“If a left-wing government comes to power, everything you see here could be uprooted,” she told JNS.

Matar spoke during a full-day tour of Samaria on Jan. 5, attended by a group of pro-sovereignty activists and organized by the Sovereignty Movement, which she co-founded alongside Yehudit Katsover.

The tour featured visits to both and newly established communities, agricultural farms and key strategic vantage points, offering insight into the importance of sovereignty—the application of Israeli law—for the State of Israel from biblical, historical and real-world security perspectives.

Matar added, “Without sovereignty, Israel is basically sending a message to the world that yes, many Jews live here and we have farms and cities, but we haven’t truly decided yet what we’re doing.”

Taking out a map included in Israel’s TAMA 35 National Outline Plan for spatial growth and development, Matar showed that the area representing Judea and Samaria is bare as it doesn’t have a national plan attached to it.

“The moment we will have application of Israeli sovereignty, the status of Judea and Samaria will be like Petach Tikvah, Rehovot, etc., and it will be, please God, irreversible,” she said.

A view from the community of Evyatar, south of Nablus, Jan. 5, 2026. Photo by Josh Hasten.

Israel Defense Forces reservist Eitan W. (full name withheld at his request) told JNS that he specifically requested to fulfill his current reserve duty by guarding at Shir LeDavid.

Without discussing politics, he stressed the importance of the work carried out by the farm’s proprietors, the Lerner family—Elchanan and Hadas, along with their seven children, who set up their business on a strategic hilltop, alongside Israel’s seam-line security barrier.

The farm ensures that the local Arabs can’t encroach on Israeli state land in the area and serves as a buffer for Rosh HaAyin, just a few miles away, Eitan W. said.

He believes the application of sovereignty will only yield positive results.

“The farmers here are safeguarding around 10,000 dunams [almost 2,500 acres]. Sovereignty will assist in every aspect of the development of the farm,” he said.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan speaking at the “Balcony of Israel” lookout point in Peduel, Samaria, Jan. 5, 2026. Photo by Josh Hasten.

Speaking at the “Balcony of Israel” lookout point in the community of Peduel, above Israel’s major population centers, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan told JNS that “constant pressure must be applied to the Israeli government to extend sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, in line with the will of the majority of the Israeli public.”

Dagan stressed the importance of securing support from allies in leadership positions around the world toward sovereignty, but was adamant that the decision is Jerusalem’s, even if that means ruffling feathers with friends in the Trump administration.

“We don’t need permission from any foreign leader. This is our land, first and foremost. Judea and Samaria are ours, and not just because of their strategic security importance,” he said.

Earlier this week, Dagan hosted senior European Parliament member Reinhold Lopatka of Austria, one of the leading figures in the European People’s Party, on a tour of Samaria.

Dagan shared that Lopatka expressed his support in the struggle toward the application of sovereignty.

Sovereignty Movement co-chair Yehudit Katsover at the “Balcony of Israel” lookout point in Peduel, Samaria, Jan. 5, 2026. Photo by Josh Hasten.

During a lunch break before touring the community of Itamar, near Nablus, Sovereignty Movement co-chair Katsover told JNS that while there is no perfect solution for Judea and Samaria, she sees sovereignty as the best path forward.

She noted the stark contrast—the Arabs openly claim Judea, Samaria, and even all of Israel, yet Israel’s leadership has not made an equally firm declaration of its rights.

“The Arab’s desire to take over Israel didn’t just start with the Oslo Accords [in the 1990s], but this is from way before,” she said.

“They say this land is theirs, but history, archaeology, international law from the [1920] San Remo Conference, is on our side,” she explained.

Katsover added that Israel mistakenly tried to pacify the Arabs through economic cooperation, but it had little effect on calming the situation.

“Building Jewish communities isn’t enough; we need sovereignty. We must explain clearly and in depth that this land belongs to the Jewish people—especially now, during the election season,” she said.

“We are strong, and so are they [the Arabs], but this land is mine,” Katsover said.

Earlier this week, Likud MK Dan Illouz expressed to JNS the importance of implementing sovereignty, something he has been working on in the legislature.

lllouz said he is pushing for sovereignty not based on emotions or feelings, but based on Israeli law.

He also expressed support for the agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria to combat illegal Palestinian building, saying they ensure there is sovereignty on the ground.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keen on getting US support on the issue, at the end of the day the government must do what is right for the State of Israel, Illouz said.

“This [Judea and Samaria] is our historical homeland. … When you open the Bible, you don’t see Tel Aviv, you see Shechem [i.e. Nablus], Bethlehem, Beit El, of course Jerusalem, Shiloh; those are the places where our nation was developed, and so I think this is a thing [sovereignty] we should do with or without American support.

“I understand Netanyahu’s considerations, but this is one of the points I respectfully disagree with him,” said Illouz.

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates