According to reports by “Israel Hayom”, after Defense Minister Gallant gave the approval to permit permanent Jewish residency in North Samaria, the spokesmen for the US Embassy in Israel said: "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.
According to the report, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed the Central Command Israel Defense Forces General, Yehuda Fuchs, to sign a decree that will apply and implement the law to cancel the disengagement in northern Samaria that was approved by the Knesset two months ago. This step on behalf of the government is significant in terms of security and policy, as a result of which the IDF is preparing to increase forces, establish outposts and even mobilize forces on the spot to protect civilians who will now be able to enter the area in northern Samaria. The meaning behind the legislation is that Israeli outposts such as the Yeshiva in the abandoned settlement Homesh will be considered “lands in the process of regulation.”
Gallant Opens Door to Jewish Return to Evacuated Part of Samaria - @JewishPress - https://t.co/6INTH8pBPf pic.twitter.com/KtFHV4J9No
— JewishPress.com (@JewishPress) May 19, 2023
The US Embassy spoke of outposts like Homesh as well and added: "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 the building of any kind on private Palestinian land or deep in the West Bank adjacent to Palestinian communities," the embassy added."
It was also stated: "We made it clear that the promotion of settlements is an obstacle to peace and the achievement of a two-state solution. This certainly includes the creation of new settlements, the construction or legalization of outposts, or allowing construction of any kind on private Palestinian land or deep in the West Bank adjacent to Palestinian settlements. 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.”
According to The New York Post newspaper, the state assembly of New York has announced its intention to review proposed legislation that aims to prevent registered US charities from funding illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank...#FlagMarch#JerusalemUnderAttack. pic.twitter.com/mGSCRJYKjP
— Zen Alexander (@zynn9657) May 18, 2023
This change comes after 18 years in which the Disengagement Law was in effect. Only last March the Knesset plenum approved in second and third reading to cancel the legislation, with 31 members of the Knesset who voted in favor against 18 who opposed.
