Six families celebrated the Sabbath together with dozens of other activists, including many youths, on the ruins of the former community of Homesh.

Homesh was one of four Jewish communities in Northern Samaria razed by Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan two years ago, but its residents have never given up the idea of rebuilding it. The site of Homesh remains under IDF military control.

Protestors at the site were told by security forces on Friday that they would be removed by force due to an event in a nearby Palestinian Authority Arab village in which PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was set to participate.

However, no police or soldiers arrived at the former Jewish community, thus allowing the activists to enjoy a peaceful Sabbath on the breezy hilltop.

Activists have maintained a continuous presence at the site since last week, when almost a thousand Jews reached the former northern Samaria hilltop community. This Sabbath was the first time since the demolition of the town and the expulsion of its residents two summers ago that activists have succeeded in overcoming governmental attempts to stop them.

Dozens of people were arrested and hundreds of others were blocked last week as activists determinedly continued their efforts to reach the site before the fast day of Tisha B’Av, when approximately 100 people snuck around IDF roadblocks and arrived at the destroyed town.

Those that made it recited the Book of Lamentations and dirges (kinnot) upon the ruins of the Homesh synagogue, the first structure activists planned to rebuild with bricks they brought with them.

Within a day, several dozen of the protestors were removed by security forces, while others fled to the surrounding hills. Most of those who were evacuated cooperated in the process, although there were reports of others who were beaten by police. There were also reports of police removing their identification tags, confiscating cameras and destroying photo memory cards.

The daily perseverance of the Homesh supporters, despite intense heat and constant police harassment, startled security forces. One policeman confessed, "We do not have more strength left," according to the weekly B'Sheva newspaper.

Activists have been visiting the site periodically since last Chanukah (December 2006), and have vowed to rebuild the town.