Israel's National Planning and Building Council approved on Jan. 5 plans to establish a new Jewish community near the border with Gaza. The new locality — a mixed secular and religious village — has been given the placeholder name Hanoun, after the river that flows nearby. The project still needs government approval.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked tweeted, "Continuing to make history in the Negev. Congratulations to Sdot Negev Regional Council on the approval of the new 'Hanoun' locality that will accommodate 500 new families. [Israel’s first Prime Minister David] Ben-Gurion's vision is coming true before our very eyes, and is more relevant today than ever before. The establishment of the new locality not only goes in line with the needs of the housing market, but first and foremost fulfills the Zionist dream and strengthens the Gaza envelope region."

In other interviews, Shaked made it clear she considers building new villages in the Negev and in the Golan Heights a high political and ideological priority. Hanoun, she noted, is just one of several plans for communities in the Negev region she intends to promote in order to assert the Jewish presence there. She has already advanced the construction of the town of Kasif, near the southern city of Arad, and several rural communities such as Hiran and Yatir.

In a video that accompanied the tweet, head of the Sdot Negev Regional Council Tamir Idan is seen standing alongside Shaked where the new locality is expected to be built. "We are very excited. We have waited for this to happen many years. It’s a great victory over our enemies from the West. The terrorists will see us continuing to build. They will continue focusing on terror while we will continue focusing on construction," says Idan. Shaked notes that many people want to come and live in the region. The project was delays for many years, she explains, adding, "I’m hoping that within two years we will manage to build this new locality in Israel."