Israel endorses the return of settlers to several settlements evacuated during the 2005 disengagement plan

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May 22. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli authorities have endorsed this Wednesday the return of Jewish settlers to several settlements located in the West Bank that were evacuated within the framework of the unilateral Israeli withdrawal plan, also known as the disengagement plan, and which marked the end of any permanent Israeli civilian presence. in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank in 2005.

The country’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has announced that legislation allowing the return of Israeli civilians to the area has been expanded to include the areas where the settlements of Sa Nur, Ganim and Kadim were located – all they evacuated in the past–.

As Gallant explained, Israelis will be able to enter these areas again, which will favor the “development of settlements and improve the security of residents in the region”, as reported by ‘The Times of Israel’ newspaper.

Although the Government has yet to approve any activity of this type – processes that generally take years – the withdrawal of the ban could favor the reestablishment of illegal settlements.

This measure had already been applied in relation to the Homesh settlement, whose illegal construction was the epicenter of a crisis between the settlers, the Israeli Government and activists who opposed precisely this construction. This settlement, along with the other three named above, was evacuated and partially demolished 19 years ago within the framework of the disengagement plan after it was built on private Palestinian lands.

In 2023, the Government requested the withdrawal of the regulations that declared the area a war zone in an attempt to pave the way for the return, precisely, of Israeli citizens to the area.