About 20 years after the evacuation of Homesh as part of the Disengagement Plan, ten families returned today (Thursday) to settle there permanently. The families settled in a new neighborhood built as an expansion of the historic settlement.
The return to Homesh comes after years of efforts in the Knesset to cancel the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria and to restore life in four evacuated communities: Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim.
The initiative was led by the Samaria Regional Council, headed by Yossi Dagan, who himself was evacuated from the Sa-Nur settlement in 2005. According to him, the return of the families to Homesh symbolizes the closing of a circle after two decades.
During the ceremony for the inauguration of the "Homesh B" neighborhood, Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Strock, MK Yuli Edelstein, former MK Professor Aryeh Eldad, Secretary General of the Amana Movement Ze'ev Hever (Zambish), members of the "Homesh First" movement, and the evacuated families participated.
Dagan stated that the return of the families is a correction of the injustice caused during the evacuation of the settlement. "Twenty years ago, we were part of something horrific, despicable, and criminal-the uprooting of flourishing settlements and a law that forbade Jews to be in such an important area. We, representing the vast majority of the Jewish people, broke that evil, immoral, and racist law. Today, Jews are returning to Homesh with new families, and we are telling the world: Those who didn’t want Jews in northern Samaria will receive tenfold and twentyfold. Those who didn’t want four settlements in northern Samaria will get 10, 15, and eventually 20 settlements, which will become the true center of the State of Israel."
He added, "Justice will come to an end. Even if it takes 20 years, justice comes. We are committed to the brothers who fell here and to all the people of Israel to build, and this time forever, and return the exiled people of Israel. When we come here and see the young couples, some of whom are families who were evacuated from Homesh, we can see with our own eyes the fulfillment of God's words to Amos: 'And I will plant them upon their land, and they will not be uprooted again.' The people of Israel are here in northern Samaria forever, God willing, until millions of Jews populate all of Samaria. We are winning and will continue to win."
Strock added: "I was among the founders of the 'Homesh First' headquarters. The leading idea of the headquarters was that if you believe they can destroy, believe they can also fix. We chose Homesh as the spearhead to lead the correction of all the sins of the Disengagement, the sins of Oslo, and all the betrayal of the Land of Israel. I came to the Knesset and the government based on this great spirit of the Homesh headquarters, and we began in Homesh. Homesh was our first correction with the establishment of the government, and today we are correcting all the damages of Oslo, and we will continue to correct, with God’s help. If you believe they can destroy, believe they can fix. The people of Israel live!"
Minister of Finance and Minister in the Ministry of Defense Bezalel Smotrich sent his blessing: "This is an exciting and formative day. After years of evacuation, the Homesh families return to their home today. We are returning the families to a life of security and sovereignty. This is historic justice, and it is part of a broader process of strengthening settlement throughout our country, which will establish the Jewish hold in all areas of our land and erase the idea of a Palestinian state. I thank Defense Minister Israel Katz for his cooperation, Yossi Dagan, Head of the Samaria Regional Council, and my partners in the Settlement Administration. Together, we will continue, with God’s help, to strengthen the Jewish hold in northern Samaria and throughout the Land of Israel."
Rabbi Elishama Cohen, Head of Homesh Yeshiva, said: "With God's help, Homesh will grow and expand, connect with Mount Ebal, connect with all the areas here. The main thing is that, with God's help, we will merit to preserve its unique sanctity, its great Torah, and that from here a great educational spirit will emerge for northern Samaria, for all of Samaria, and for the entire Land of Israel. We pray and hope that soon, we will return with this great spirit to Gaza."
MK Yuli Edelstein, a leader in the fight against the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria, said: "When I founded the 'Homesh First' lobby in the Knesset almost 20 years ago, I dreamed of this exact day. I am happy to announce that the struggle we began after the evacuation is coming to an end today. Ten pioneering families are once again establishing their home legally here in Homesh. After completing the cancellation of the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria in this current term, today this historic step is coming to fruition. This emotional closing of the circle will be just the first swallow. This is not a symbolic step in the struggle for our land, but an important national move aimed at ensuring our continued existence here in the Land of Israel. I thank Yossi Dagan, Head of the Samaria Regional Council, and all the loyal partners along the way. May you all rise and succeed."
Benny Gal, one of the evacuees from Homesh, returned to his home today after 20 years. He said with excitement: "The tears are choking my throat - we waited, hoped, and fought for 21 years for this day, to erase the stain of evacuation. Today, the Israeli government is making a great public atonement through settlement. With God's help, Homesh is the first step for a full return to all of northern Samaria."
