 In the 1990s, Itamar seized the surrounding hills, establishing the outposts The Point in 1996, Hill 836, Hill 851 and Giv'ot Olam in 1998, Hill 777 and Hill 782 in 1999, and in 2002 Itamar North.Five of these outposts were approved by former prime minister Ehud Barak in 2000.At the time, a master plan gave the settlement a total area of some 6,000 dunams.