The US stresses that the Homesh settlement, in the West Bank, “is illegal even under Israeli law”

Jan. 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The US government has stressed that the Homesh settlement in the West Bank “is illegal even under Israeli law”, after the Israeli government has changed its position and told the courts that it will not act to expel the settlers. that are in place.

The new government of Benjamin Netanyahu, made up of several ultra-Orthodox and ultra-right parties, has transferred this change of position to the Israeli Supreme Court and has announced that it seeks to change a law that prohibits Israelis from residing in the place.

“The Homesh settlement in the West Bank is illegal. It is illegal even under Israeli law,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, although the Israeli authorities differentiate between those that have been granted permission and those that have not.

“Our call to avoid unilateral steps includes any decision to create a new settlement, legalize settlements or allow construction of any kind in the West Bank, near Palestinian communities or on private Palestinian land,” he stressed.

Homesh was built on private Palestinian land and was initially evacuated along with three other settlements when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, when a law was passed preventing Israelis from entering the site without special permission, it has not prevented settlers from settling in the area.

Following the death of Yehuda Dimentman, a student at a Jewish religious school the military allowed to operate illegally in Homesh, in a December 2021 attack near the settlement, former Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz ordered that no They will demolish the structures erected in the place and the deployment of the military to guarantee security.

Netanyahu already advanced last week when presenting the main political lines of his government that “the Jewish people have the exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas in the Land of Israel” and that he will promote the expansion of the settlements in the West Bank, which sparked criticism. of the Palestinian Authority.