A member of the government coalition visited the ruins of the northern Samaria town of Homesh for the first time since activists returned to the town over a month ago.

Homesh, one of the 25 Jewish towns destroyed as part of the 2005 Disengagement Plan, has become the focus of attempts by grassroots organizations like Homesh First to rectify what both evicted residents and a majority of Israelis (according to recent polls) view as a grave mistake in policy.

MK Chaim Amsalem (Shas), together with MK Uri Ariel (National Union-NRP) traveled to Homesh Tuesday, joining the thousands of activists who have consciously defied the Disengagement Law, which bars Israeli citizens from the destroyed towns in northern Samaria and Gaza.

The MKs speak with Alice Zeeman, who was expelled from Homesh and has now returned with her family

MK Chaim Amsalem speaks with the Homesh activists

About 50 young activists and a handful of families have been camped out in Homesh since July 15, braving the cold nights, cooking over campfires and spending their days building structures that have been demolished by the Border Police on a weekly basis.

The two MKs expressed their admiration at the determination of the activists, saying that in the end, they believe, it will lead to success. “We see here self-sacrifice – and such sacrifice will certainly lead to achievements,” they said.

Homesh activists, concerned that with the start of the school year young people will be unable to continue the resettlement of Homesh, have decided to open a yeshiva and a women’s seminary on the site.

Activists have been defying IDF and police orders and visiting Homesh since Chanukah of last year, on Pesach, and continued with the largest visit taking place on Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day). On July 15, the army deployed to prevent the declared aim of resettling the town, but activists built a structure on an adjacent hilltop and subsequently hid in the caves and valleys of the region each time the army or police tried to remove them from the area.

Haaretz: Homesh Victory “Inconsequential” Without Our Coverage

The Haaretz newspaper, in its coverage of the Hevron eviction, observed that the movement to resettle Homesh has scored a victory against the government, but gloats at having neutralized it by refraining from giving press coverage to the return.

"This will be Defense Minister Ehud Barak's first test in his current post vis-a-vis the settlers, with the exception of the IDF's resounding failure at Homesh, where settler youth have continued for weeks to visit the remains of the outpost at their will," the article, by Amos Harel, Nadav Shragai and Yuval Azoulay, reads.



"The lack of media coverage at Homesh, however, has made the settlers' victory there nearly inconsequential."

The Haaretz story can be seen by clicking here. The same paragraphs were later copied and used again in another Haaretz story.

Public Invited to Join

Activists currently in Homesh invite others to join them. They say they have all the food they need, a Torah Scroll and building materials. “Volunteers are invited to bring a sleeping bag and move on up,” a message on "Radio Homesh" says. For more information, call 052 630 2222