The government's legal advisor for Judea and Samaria (Shomron) announced, last week, that the Samarian Jewish community of Homesh, uprooted by Israel in the Disengagement of 2005, will be removed from the list of Israeli communities in the area and the entry of Palestinian Authority residents into the area will now be legal. The announcement was made in response to a petition from residents of the southern Samarian Arab village of Burka, assisted by the leftist group Yesh Din.
Entry by Israelis will continue to be prohibited although there has been an unofficial presence there at times. In May, the state announced cancellation of the order holding the land on which Homesh was built, although the ban on PA residents was still in effect until last week's announcement.