An Israel Hayom report on Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's move to implement that controversial law that allows the presence of Israelis on the site of the uprooted settlement of Homesh drew condemnation from the US on Thursday.
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"The United States strongly urges Israel to refrain from allowing the return of Israeli settlers to the area covered by the legislation passed in March, consistent with both former PM [Ariel] Sharon's and the current Israeli government's commitments to the United States," the US Embassy in Israel said in response to a query by Israel Hayom. "We have been clear that advancing settlements is an obstacle to peace and the achievement of a two-state solution. This certainly includes creating new settlements, building or legalizing outposts, or allowing building of any kind on private Palestinian land or deep in the West Bank adjacent to Palestinian communities," the embassy added.
Entry to Homesh, as well as three other former settlements in northern Samaria, was previously illegal under the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Law, which was repealed by the Knesset in mid-March. However, Israelis have returned occasionally, and a new yeshiva was established in the area.
This week, Gallant essentially put in motion the process that will make the repeal of the law and its restrictions final. As Israel Hayom reported Thursday, Gallant has instructed the IDF GOC Central Command Yehuda Fuchs to sign a decree that will make it legal for Israelis to set foot there, although this was not akin to having the settlement re-established, as this would require more administrative measures.
In its condemnation on Thursday, the US reiterated its strong rebuke of the repeal of the law that was passed. "As we said in March, the United States is deeply troubled by efforts to rescind important parts of the 2005 disengagement law, including the prohibition on establishing settlements in the northern West Bank. At least one of the outposts in this area, Homesh, was illegally built on private Palestinian land," it said.
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