US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Wednesday spoke out against the Israeli government’s plan to amend the Disengagement Law and normalize the community of Homesh in Samaria.
“The Homesh outpost in the West Bank is illegal even under Israeli law. Our call to refrain from unilateral steps certainly includes any decision to create a new settlement, legalize outposts, or allow building deep in the West Bank,” Price told reporters.
The statement comes two days after state representatives told the Supreme Court that the government is planning to amend the 2005 Disengagement Law, and normalize the status of Homesh.
The Netanyahu government requested a three-month extension in a case brought against the Homesh yeshiva and the activists who have resettled the demolished town.
In 2005, as part of the Gaza Disengagement Plan, four towns in northern Samaria, including Homesh, were evacuated.
The Disengagement Law barred Israelis from returning to or resettling the four evacuated towns.
Despite the prohibition, a group of activists built a yeshiva and a fledgling town at the former site of the town of Homesh, leading to multiple evacuations by authorities.
In a pending case with the Supreme Court, state representatives requested a three-month extension, noting the change in government and adding that the government is planning to amend the law and to normalize the status of Homesh, thus rendering the petition to evacuate the town moot.