US ‘deeply troubled’ by Israel’s approval of Homesh construction
Settler leader Dagan: Historic step in reversing disengagement
A modular building erected for a yeshiva in the West Bank outpost Homesh on Sunday night has raised an international furor, with the US saying it was “deeply troubled.”
The move was seen as a new step in the government’s efforts to legalize the settlement.
The yeshiva was in the Northern Samaria town that Israel withdrew from as part of the 2005 disengagement, together with the evacuation of the Gaza Strip. The Knesset passed the Disengagement Repeal Law in March, legalizing a return to some areas of Northern Samaria.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yehuda Fuchs to sign an order earlier this month, officially allowing Israelis to enter Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim.
Local media reported that Finance Minister and junior minister in the defense ministry Bezalel Smotrich put pressure Sunday night on Gallant to allow the construction to go ahead. His office declined to comment on the issue.
Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan attached a mezuzah to the yeshiva’s doorpost on Monday. It was a “historic moment” that “righted not only a personal injustice toward those expelled [from Homesh] but to all of the people of Israel,” he said, adding it was another step toward reversing the 2005 evacuation.
Although the yeshiva’s current structures are modular buildings, the council said they would be its permanent home.
The new location is “on state-owned land, a few hundred meters from where it was previously, to arrange its legal status,” the council said.
In Washington, the State Department spoke out against the reopening of the Homesh yeshiva, saying “we are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s recent order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank.” Washington noted that the return to Homesh is “inconsistent with both former prime minister [Ariel] Sharon’s written commitment to the Bush Administration in 2004 and the current Israeli government’s commitments to the Biden Administration.” “The expansion of settlements undermines the geographic viability of a two-state solution, exacerbates tensions, and further harms trust between the parties,” the State Department said. “This is consistent with the views of previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican. We regularly engage with Israeli officials on this issue and will continue to do so.” The understandings between Sharon and Bush came in an exchange of letters between the leaders. The Obama administration, in which US
The return of settlers to Homesh was “a challenge to the international community, especially the US administration,” Abu Rudaineh said.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the return of settlers to Homesh “falls within the framework of a silent and creeping annexation of the occupied West Bank, under the supervision and support of the Israeli government.”
The Palestinians are reporting Israel’s actions to the International Criminal