Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed on Wednesday to amend the Disengagement Law in order to enable Jews to settle in the evacuated settlement of Homesh in the northern West Bank.
Homesh was one of four Jewish settlements in the northern West Bank that were evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement, which also saw the evacuation of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
During the coalition negotiations, the two men also agreed to expand the “Dromi Law,” which exempts those who harm a burglar breaking into their home, business, or farm from criminal liability, to apply to the theft of weapons from military bases.
In addition, Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir agreed that within 60 days of the establishment of the government, infrastructures will be provided for a series of illegal settlement outposts (known on the right as “young settlements”) likely through legislation that will legalize them. In addition, a law will be passed setting minimum sentences for agricultural crime and racketeering. They also agreed to expedite the planning and paving of bypass roads and expansion of Highway 60, the main traffic route of settlements in the West Bank, with $1.5 billion shekels to be budgeted for the project. Finally, they agreed to create a yeshiva at the outpost of Evyatar, whose residents were evicted from the location last year.
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At the end of the meeting, Likud released a statement that “significant progress in the talks” had been achieved. But sources close to Ben-Gvir say that despite the progress, he has no intention of signing an agreement before understandings are reached between Netanyahu and Religious Zionism. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit is one of the three factions that make up Religious Zionism, headed by Bezalel Smotrich.
Likud postponed the negotiations meeting with Religious Zionism, scheduled for Wednesday, to Thursday. Netanyahu and Smotrich spoke on Tuesday, but no progress was made, according to sources. Smotrich insists on being appointed defense minister, while Netanyahu reiterated his position that such an appointment would be problematic, in part due to the international opposition it would spark.
Against the backdrop of U.S. concern over the possibility of Smotrich’s appointment as defense minister, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides met on Tuesday with Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the meeting took place, as reported first by Channel 12 News, but denied that Nides raised the subject with Netanyahu. The American embassy declined comment on the contents of the meeting. Nides, who has spoke with Netanyahu several times since the elections, has recently expressed the American administration’s view of the sensitivity of the post.
In an interview published on Tuesday in Jewish Insider, the American ambassador to Israel said that he “does not intend to speculate who will be in the government or what our response will be when it happens. But what I do care about are those ministries with which we have very close relationships, especially the Defense Ministry. This is a critical ministry, and I have invested an enormous amount of time in working with Minister Gantz on matters of mutual security, as well as matters relating to the West Bank and Gaza,” he said, referring to Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
In August the state informed the High Court of Justice that its position is that the outpost at Homesh should be evacuated, but refrained from setting a date on the evacuation. The state’s representatives stressed that the eviction of the yeshiva erected at the location is at the discretion of the defense minister, and that in its opinion there is no place for the court to intervene in the matter. The state’s position was delivered as part of an appeal requesting that the outpost be removed, and in response to the Court’s demand back in June to update the judges on progress in the eviction process within two months.
In response to an appeal filed in May, the state declared that it believes that Homesh should be evacuated. The High Court of Justice recognized the fact that due to the erection of the outposts, the Palestinians cannot access their land. But the court suggested that the appellants try the relevant authorities again, so that the army ensures them access to their lands.
In February the state announced that as of that time, it allows the yeshiva at the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank to operate, but prevents new construction at the location. Currently, a yeshiva is operating at Homesh as an illegal outpost. Since then the Disengagement Law, which forbids Israelis from staying in the area, was applied to Homesh. Despite this, Israelis are present at the location on a regular basis and prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands.
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