On August 31, 2026, the first families arrived to establish Makeda (מקדה), also known as Doran (דורן), in the southern Hebron Hills / southern West Bank, near Adora. The site is located on the grounds of a former Israeli military post that was abandoned about 21 years ago. A first mobile structure had already been brought to the site in June 2026.

The sign displays the logos of the three Settlement Enterprises:

1. The Settlement Division of the WZO
2. Amana
3. Settler Regional Councils (here the Mt. Hebron Regional Council)

At the August 31 ceremony, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock, and Har Hebron Regional Council head Eliram Azulai were present. Smotrich presented Makeda as part of a broader “security belt” intended to protect Kiryat Gat, Beit Shemesh, the Lachish settlements and the Shfela.

The Har Hebron Regional Council says the project was advanced with the assistance of Benjamin Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Orit Strock, Amana, the Settlement Division and the Israeli military. The Har Hebron Regional Council explicitly describes Makeda/Doran as the beginning of a new settlement bloc in western Judea.The project is intended to create territorial continuity between existing settlements and the two newly established settlements: Eshkolot → Makeda/Doran → Karmi Yehuda → Telem / Adora.

Karmi Yehuda was also physically established in late August, with the first families arriving the previous week. However, it had already been approved earlier as part of the government's package of 34 new settlements announced in 2026.

According to the Har Hebron Regional Council, two additional settlements are expected to be established in the coming months/ Maagd (מגד) — south of Negohot and Ma'ale Anav (מעלה ענב) — north of Eshkolot, south of Beit Hagai. Both had already been included in the government's list of 34 new settlements.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that "as part of the settlement revolution we are leading, we fortify and strengthen the settlement, not with words but with actions. The ascent to the settlement of 'Mikda' is a historic and significant step for settlement. We are building the security strip of Kiryat Gat, Beit Shemesh and the settlements of Lachish and the lowlands. If, God forbid, a left-wing government led by Eisenkot-Lieberman-Golan emerges, they will evacuate the settlements and farms and establish a Palestinian terrorist state. This must not be allowed to happen. I thank the Settlement Directorate and Council President Eliram Azoulai for leading the settlement's rise to the ground".

Settlement Minister Orit Struck added: "We are in the midst of a huge national response process, in which the people of Israel are building their country again, with their state tools. The establishment of the settlement of Makda in Mount Hebron is another milestone in this vision, a vision that in difficult days some saw it as a distant dream, and today we get to see it grow skin and sinew. The power to fulfill this vision comes from the people of Israel, who chose life, the Land of Israel and settlement".

Timeline :

1. December 11, 2025: Israeli Cabinet approves the re-establishment of Doran/Makeda,

2. December 21, 2025: Strock and Azulai participate in a ceremony at the Doran site,

3. June 16, 2026: First mobile structure brought to the site,

4. Late August 2026: First families arrive at Karmi Yehuda,

5. August 31, 2026 First families establish Makeda/Doran; ceremony attended by Smotrich, Strock and Azulai,

6. Coming months: Maagd and Ma'ale Anav expected to be established

According to Israel Hayom, "The new settlement was established on an area where a military post that the IDF had abandoned over two decades ago was once located. He joins the settlement of Karmi Yehuda, where families entered last week. The move is intended to connect the settlement of Eshkolot in the south of Mount Hebron and the settlements of Telam and Adora."