MK Ze’ev Elkin of the Likud, who holds the prestigious position of coalition whip in the Knesset, spent this past Sabbath with his family in Shavei Shomron, a guest of the Homesh First pioneers. Homesh First is the first initiative to rebuild one of the 25 towns destroyed in the Disengagement/Expulsion of 2005 – specifically, the Samaria community of Homesh.
“There is no one today who needs further proof that the Disengagement was a terrible mistake,” Elkin said upon the conclusion of his visit, “for which Israel continues to pay, even today, a price on the national, security, and social levels, and now even on the diplomatic level as well" - a reference to the Goldstone report so critical of Israel's defensive Cast Lead battles.
On Friday morning, at around the same time that Shomron Regional Council Head Gershon Mesika was taking MK Elkin on a tour of various communities and outpost neighborhoods in the Shomron, army forces arrived at the unauthorized outpost Shvut Ami. The forces destroyed equipment there and evicted several residents – one of many evictions of Shvut Ami that have been carried out in recent months. Once again, young pioneers returned to the site, near Kedumim and south of Shavei Shomron, shortly afterwards.
Mesika explained to Elkin that several evictions of Shvut Ami and Homesh have taken place on Sabbath days or otherwise involved Sabbath desecration.
“I salute the expellees from Homesh and [nearby] Sa-Nur who are leading the way for a return to Homesh,” Elkin said. “I am very hopeful that together we will see a return to the northern Shomron… The Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria needs strengthening in all areas, first and foremost in the area of new construction.”
The Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria reports a significant increase in the number of visitors to its holiday events this past Sukkot. Over 25,000 people from all over Israel visited various Shomron sites, including 3,500 Likud members and their families in 63 buses and car-convoys. The central attraction was the Sebastia Festival at the site that is considered the kick-off point for modern Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria.
Some 30,000 people visited Gush Etzion, thousands more in Susia and the Southern Mt. Hevron communities, and 30,000 arrived in Hevron and the Machpelah Cave on Monday of Sukkot. Some 7,000 people visited the ancient Shilo Tabernacle site, and another 3,000 participated in the Festival on the River in Nachal Perat (Wadi Kelt) near Jericho.
Among the guests were Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom and MK Tzip Hotobeli, both of the Likud, and their families.