The Education Ministry is planning to hold tours for schools and youth movements to the Homesh settlement, which has recently become permittable to visit for the first time in almost 20 years, Israel Hayom has learned.
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If the plan comes to fruition, the tours will most likely require heavy security and perhaps even bulletproof buses, which will increase the costs involved. The financial aspect is only one of several expected to garner criticism, along with opposition from critics of the government's right-wing policies.
The 2005 Gaza disengagement led to the evacuation and destruction of Homesh, as well as Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim in Samaria, and 21 communities in the Gaza Strip. In March, the Knesset repealed articles of the law banning Israelis from entering and being in the four Samaria communities, and in May GOC Central Command head Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs signed an order allowing Israelis to reenter Homesh.
The Education Ministry has so far refrained from granting permits to groups wishing to visit the area as security measures are yet to be set up but stressed that it planned to hold educational trips to Homesh in the future.
"In light of the change in legislation, the Education Ministry intends to allow tours to be held in Homesh as are currently held in the other regions of Judea and Samaria," it said in a statement. "All trips by the Education Ministry throughout the country, and in Judea and Samaria in particular, are conditioned by the instructions of the police and the military, in order to allow for an appropriate security envelope. The Education Ministry is awaiting the IDF's instructions on the matter and will act accordingly."
Meanwhile, on Monday, the United States criticized Israel for moving the Homesh yeshiva to a permanent spot on state-owned land.
"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," a State Department spokesperson said. "It 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 spokesman 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."
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