Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed on Wednesday to put into effect a bill repealing the Disengagement Law in some northern West Bank areas, reopening them for Israelis for the first time since 2005.
The order will now allow Israeli citizens to return to the settlements of Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim after access was granted to Homesh last year.
"The bill's implementation comes after extensive discussions that Defense Minister Gallant held with the council head and IDF officials," Gallant's office said in a joint statement with Shomron Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan.
However, IDF Central Command chief Major General Yehuda Fox signed a closure order on April 1 for the areas of Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim in the northern West Bank, meaning Israelis cannot currently enter these areas. The closure order, effective from April this year until December 2028, aims to prevent an influx of settlers into the specified area.
"Following the repealing of the Disengagement Law in the Knesset and after completing the necessary procedures, we've succeeded in completing this historic move. Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria ensures security, and the bill's implementation will lead to the proper growth of settlements and provide security to the area's residents," Gallant said, using the territory's biblical name.
"As I've done in all my roles in the Israeli government, I'll continue to develop settlements in Judea and Samaria, strengthen security measures and ensure the residents' safety — on the roads and in the settlements themselves."
"This correction is a historic moment, both morally and security-wise, for the State of Israel, especially after October 7," Dagan said. "Today, the State of Israel officially corrected the injustice of the disengagement from northern Samaria. I commend Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for this just and valuable decision for the State of Israel and IDF Central Command chief Yehuda Fox, who had the honor to sign this important correction.
After the Disengagement Law's repeal was approved, settlers were allowed to stay in Homesh. Settlers pressured Gallant to instruct Major General Fox to lift the order, thereby making it legal to stay in the northern West Bank settlements.
"We welcome the just decision to repeal the Disengagement Law from the northern Samaria area. For many years, we have fought for the return of Jewish settlement to northern Samaria, and even after Homesh was approved as a settlement, we continued the fight, and now we welcome its conclusion," Homesh's yeshiva said in a statement.
Settlers from Sa-Nur said, "We congratulate the defense minister on this historic move. He, alongside Yossi Dagan, is making history and returning us to the right path. In doing so, they aren't only changing the past but also the future that's to come to the communities of Emek Hefer, Harish and the surrounding area should we not return to settle in northern Samaria."