Homesh
Encyclopedia
Homesh was an Israeli settlement
in the northern Samarian Hills of the West Bank
along Tulkarm and Route 60. The village fell under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council
. In 2005, the town's Jewish community was evicted and their homes were demolished, as part of Israel's 2005 disengagement plan from the northern West Bank and Gaza Strip.
military outpost, and demilitarized when turned over to residential purposes in 1980 to non-Orthodox
Jewish Israelis. During the al-Aqsa Intifada
and a result of the Palestinian violence
and increased threat to personal security, about half of the residents left. Shortly after though, dozens of Orthodox Jewish Israelis moved to the village in order to show support for the continued settlement of the area.
of August 2005. Since that time, former residents and others have revisited the ruins multiple times and are making efforts to return to the site and rebuild. Kibbutz
Yad Hana
accepted the government's offer to absorb settlers evicted from Homesh in the partial disengagement from the occupied territories (see Protocol N.31 of the Knesset Ombudsman sub-committee on the disengaged, 5 Jan-2009) and was renamed Yad Hana-Homesh.
, a few hundred people, including settlers and some former residents, arrived at Homesh and lit a Hanukkah 'shamash
' candle. A declaration was made that this effort was the first step in rebuilding Homesh. On March 26, 2007, a few thousand supporters and former residents marched to Homesh and declared their wish to stay and rebuild. While the 'Disengagement Law' forbids Jewish citizens from being in the area, the Israeli army and police said that they allowed the march in order to avoid marchers detouring around roadblocks through Arab areas and to avoid violence such as in the evacuation of Amona
. The new resettlement was demolished on March 28, 2007, by the Israel Police
, border police
and military police
. After being evacuated the marchers said that they would try again. Another march of thousands took place on April 24, 2007, the Israeli Independence Day. Many are determined to return to their former homes. . During an ascent in June 2007, the largest remaining structure in Homesh, its water tower, was painted orange, the color of the anti-disengagement movement. The color made the hilltop more visible in its surroundings, emboldening those hoping to rebuild the community.
In late July 2007, another wider effort began in the effort to renew a permanent presence on the site. Hundreds of Israelis detoured around roadblocks to reach the site. Since then, while the police make attempts to clear the site, new visitors have returned with those who had been removed.
In 2007, during Rosh Hashana, dozens of Jews were evicted and not allowed to celebrate the holiday at Homesh. Judea and Samaria
police told the media that the terror alert necessitated the eviction of the families despite the fact that it involved desecration of the holiday. "The sensitivity to the holiday is important but after assessment sessions were held, it was decided that there was a need to operate during the holiday."
In June 2007, Knesset
member Aryeh Eldad announced that he has the support of 42 Knesset members, in a bill proposing the rebuilding of Homesh, and the decriminalization of further rebuilding attempts. The bill is likely to be voted on in the fall session of 2008.
military commander Abu Araj has stated that if settlers return to Homesh, the Palestinians would meet the Jewish community with, "fire and attacks. We will not let this entrance go by quietly, and just as before, we will make every effort to liberate our land all over again."
Justice David Gadol ruled that the Disengagement Law, on which the state bases its prohibition on entering the ruins of Homesh was legislated is not to be utilized for different purposes after that event. The judge also ruled that the government has not relinquished Homesh to another sovereignty
and that its status and access roads remain Area 'C'
which is in full control of Israel and with no restrictions on Israeli traffic, "After the evacuation of Homesh, Ganim and Kadim, unlike the evacuation of the Gaza Strip
settlements, as far as I know, the areas were not transferred to what is known as the Palestinian Authority. As I recall, there were pictures of Palestinians from the area looting the property that was left behind by the evacuating forces. For this reason it is important to legally define whether this territory has Area 'C'
status," Justice David Gadol stated, according to Haaretz
.
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
in the northern Samarian Hills of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
along Tulkarm and Route 60. The village fell under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council
Shomron Regional Council
The Shomron Regional Council is a regional council in the northern Samarian hills, in the northern part of the West Bank. The offices of the regional council are located in the Barkan Industrial Park. This regional council provides various municipal services for the 30 Israeli settlements within...
. In 2005, the town's Jewish community was evicted and their homes were demolished, as part of Israel's 2005 disengagement plan from the northern West Bank and Gaza Strip.
History
The village was established in 1978 as a pioneer NahalNahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
military outpost, and demilitarized when turned over to residential purposes in 1980 to non-Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Jewish Israelis. During the al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
and a result of the Palestinian violence
Palestinian political violence
Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence undertaken to further the Palestinian cause. These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine, the liberation of Palestine and establishment of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and...
and increased threat to personal security, about half of the residents left. Shortly after though, dozens of Orthodox Jewish Israelis moved to the village in order to show support for the continued settlement of the area.
Eviction
The residents of Homesh were forcefully evicted from their homes and their houses demolished as part of Israel's disengagementIsrael's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
of August 2005. Since that time, former residents and others have revisited the ruins multiple times and are making efforts to return to the site and rebuild. Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Yad Hana
Yad Hana
Yad Hana is a former kibbutz in the Sharon near Route 57, North-central Israel. Covering 2,600 dunams, it is located within the Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 208...
accepted the government's offer to absorb settlers evicted from Homesh in the partial disengagement from the occupied territories (see Protocol N.31 of the Knesset Ombudsman sub-committee on the disengaged, 5 Jan-2009) and was renamed Yad Hana-Homesh.
Drive to rebuild
In 2006 during HanukkahHanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
, a few hundred people, including settlers and some former residents, arrived at Homesh and lit a Hanukkah 'shamash
Shamash
Shamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu...
' candle. A declaration was made that this effort was the first step in rebuilding Homesh. On March 26, 2007, a few thousand supporters and former residents marched to Homesh and declared their wish to stay and rebuild. While the 'Disengagement Law' forbids Jewish citizens from being in the area, the Israeli army and police said that they allowed the march in order to avoid marchers detouring around roadblocks through Arab areas and to avoid violence such as in the evacuation of Amona
Amona
Amona is an Israeli settlement in the central West Bank, on a hill overlooking Ofra. Located within the municipal boundaries of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the village was founded in 1997 on a hilltop of privately owned Palestinian land and inhabited by young settlers from Ofra.By late...
. The new resettlement was demolished on March 28, 2007, by the Israel Police
Israel Police
The Israel Police is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism...
, border police
Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard, whilst its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim . Border Guard is often used as the official name of the...
and military police
Israeli Military Police
The Military Police Corps of the Israel Defense Forces is the Israeli military police and provost. The military police serves the Manpower Directorate during peace time, and the Technological and Logistics Directorate during war....
. After being evacuated the marchers said that they would try again. Another march of thousands took place on April 24, 2007, the Israeli Independence Day. Many are determined to return to their former homes. . During an ascent in June 2007, the largest remaining structure in Homesh, its water tower, was painted orange, the color of the anti-disengagement movement. The color made the hilltop more visible in its surroundings, emboldening those hoping to rebuild the community.
In late July 2007, another wider effort began in the effort to renew a permanent presence on the site. Hundreds of Israelis detoured around roadblocks to reach the site. Since then, while the police make attempts to clear the site, new visitors have returned with those who had been removed.
In 2007, during Rosh Hashana, dozens of Jews were evicted and not allowed to celebrate the holiday at Homesh. Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria Area is the official Israeli term roughly corresponding to the territory usually known outside Israel as the West Bank and to the Israeli settlements there that are not governed as part of Jerusalem.-Terminology:...
police told the media that the terror alert necessitated the eviction of the families despite the fact that it involved desecration of the holiday. "The sensitivity to the holiday is important but after assessment sessions were held, it was decided that there was a need to operate during the holiday."
In June 2007, Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
member Aryeh Eldad announced that he has the support of 42 Knesset members, in a bill proposing the rebuilding of Homesh, and the decriminalization of further rebuilding attempts. The bill is likely to be voted on in the fall session of 2008.
Fatah's response
FatahFatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
military commander Abu Araj has stated that if settlers return to Homesh, the Palestinians would meet the Jewish community with, "fire and attacks. We will not let this entrance go by quietly, and just as before, we will make every effort to liberate our land all over again."
Court rulings
In August 2007, an Israeli court ruled that it was not illegal entering the ruins of Homesh. Nevertheless, the army frequently declares the site a closed military zone and that it is illegal for civilians to be there.Justice David Gadol ruled that the Disengagement Law, on which the state bases its prohibition on entering the ruins of Homesh was legislated is not to be utilized for different purposes after that event. The judge also ruled that the government has not relinquished Homesh to another sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and that its status and access roads remain Area 'C'
Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords created three temporary distinct administrative divisions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until a final status accord would be established...
which is in full control of Israel and with no restrictions on Israeli traffic, "After the evacuation of Homesh, Ganim and Kadim, unlike the evacuation of the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
settlements, as far as I know, the areas were not transferred to what is known as the Palestinian Authority. As I recall, there were pictures of Palestinians from the area looting the property that was left behind by the evacuating forces. For this reason it is important to legally define whether this territory has Area 'C'
Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords created three temporary distinct administrative divisions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until a final status accord would be established...
status," Justice David Gadol stated, according to Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
.
See also
- SamariaSamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
- GanimGanimGanim was a village and an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank under the administrative local government of the Shomron Regional Council....
- KadimKadimKadim |Jugs]]) was an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank under the administrative jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. In September 2005 its residents were evicted and IDF soldiers began dismantling Kadim as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.-References:...
- Sa-NurSa-NurSa-Nur was an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank under the administrative jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. Prior to its demolition, Sa-nur was home to 43 families. In September 2005 its 105 residents were evicted and IDF soldiers began dismantling Sanur as part of Israel's...
- Homesh FirstHomesh FirstHomesh First is a grassroots organization attempting to rebuild and resettle the Jewish community of Homesh.-History:Homesh First was formed after the homes of the Jewish residents of Homesh were razed and Jewish community was evicted as part of Israel's disengagement in August 2005...
- Yossi DaganYossi DaganYossi Dagan is an Israeli grassroots community organizer. -Homesh First:Yossi Dagan is the leader of Homesh First. Homesh First is a grassroots organization dedicated to resettling and rebuilding Homesh....