Bruchin outpost in Samaria was officially recognized as a legal settlement on Sunday with the signing of an order to that effect by head of the IDF Central Command Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon.

The community, home to over 100 families and located approximately 18 miles from Tel Aviv between Ariel and Rosh Ha´ayin, is now under the jurisdiction of the Samaria Regional Council.

The signing of the order was more of a technicality, as Alon was merely implementing the directive of the Israeli government, which decided in April to retroactively legalize the status of three outposts in Judea and Samaria — Bruchin, Rehelim and Sansana. Rehelim and Sansana are yet to be authorized.

Many in the international community – including the US, the EU, and the UN - condemned the Israeli government´s decision at the time.

Bruchin was founded in 1998 on state land, and was identified as an illegal outpost in the 2005 Sasson Report, which was headed by former State Prosecutor and future Meretz candidate Talia Sasson. The report found that Israeli government agencies had channeled large sums of money to fund the construction of outposts and settlements in violation of Israeli law, and more specifically, that $785,000 was spent on construction in Bruchin. Building in Bruchin has been frozen since the release of the Sasson Report.

“This is a day of celebration for the state of Israel and for Zionism,” Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika told Army Radio. “The prime minister ended years of injustice by making the logical decision.” JTA content was used in this report. (© 2012 JewishPress. 08/14/12)