Israeli Army Permits Settlers to Enter Evacuated West Bank Outpost, U.S. ‘Deeply Troubled’
The Israeli military’s Central Command chief signed an order on Thursday allowing Israelis to remain at the evacuated West Bank settler outpost of Homesh, prompting concern from the United States.
A security official told Haaretz that the army also signed an order temporarily barring the entry of Israelis into the outpost until the yeshiva established there is moved to a nearby plot recognized as state land.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs to authorize entry into the outpost and curb an appeal filed by the Palestinian landowners to the High Court of Justice demanding that the Israeli settlers be cleared out and grant them access to the land. Fuchs also signed an order that gives the Shomron Regional Council authority over some of the plots that are not privately owned by Palestinians.
