Israeli Defense Minister Gallant Cancels Disengagement Law for Northern Samaria

‘The Jewish hold on Judea and Samaria guarantees security,’ said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

By Batya Jerenberg

In what is being called a “historic” announcement by right-wingers in Israel, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered Wednesday that the Disengagement Law be canceled for all northern Samaria.

This would in theory allow Jews to resettle all four of the villages whose residents were forcibly evacuated in 2005 alongside those in every Jewish settlement Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip, some 8,500 people in all.

Technically, Gallant applied a law enacted last year that canceled the settlement ban, which had been applied so far only to Homesh.

Homesh had contained a yeshiva that tenacious students kept rebuilding in temporary structures throughout the years when the authorities periodically tore it down.

The study hall is now housed in a new, permanent building, forming the core of the renewed settlement.

Now Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim could also see their residents legally return, in a move the right wing sees as critical for Israel’s security.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who was one of those expelled from his home in Sa-Nur, congratulated Gallant for the “historic moment of making a historical correction that is of the utmost importance to the state from both a values and security perspective, certainly after [the Hamas invasion of] October 7.”

“After October 7,” he added, “it is clear to everyone that where Jews live there is security. Where Jews do not live, there is terrorism.”

Two of the villages are right next to Jenin, a hotbed of anti-Israel extremism that the IDF has been battling for years, including throughout the ongoing war in Gaza as local terrorists try to stage attacks in support of Hamas.

Gallant himself said that “The Jewish hold on Judea and Samaria guarantees security” and that applying the law canceling the Disengagement “will lead to the development of the settlements and provide security for the residents of the region.”

He also patted himself on the back, saying, “As I have done in all my positions in Israeli governments, I will continue to develop Jewish residence in Judea and Samaria and strengthen the security of the citizens – on the roads and in towns.”

His words, however, were seen as disingenuous by detractors, because almost as he spoke, the head of Central Command, General Yehuda Fuchs, declared the area of Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim a closed military zone through December 2028.

If the order stands, this will prevent any Jews from entering, let alone rebuilding, these settlements.