Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has instructed the IDF GOC Central Command Yehuda Fuchs to sign a decree that could allow Jewish residency in the former settlement of Homesh in northern Samaria thus fully implementing a controversial measure to lift the restrictions under the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Law, Israel Hayom has learned.
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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other former settlements in northern Samaria, was previously illegal under the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Law, which was repealed by the Knesset in mid-March.
Gallant's decision is one of major security and political significance that has prompted the IDF to prepare for boosting forces in Homesh and mobilizing forces to protect civilians who will now be legally allowed to visit the area after almost 20 years. The matter is expected to lead to further tensions with the Biden administration, which already in March criticized Israel for repealing the disengagement law.
Together with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Gallant area also considering a measure that would give official legal status to the yeshiva that was recently established in the former community without state sanction. The yeshiva currently sits on contested land, but it could get a stamp of approval if a plan to relocate it to a plot of state land nearby is finalized.
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