44 MKs Sign Bill to Allow Jews to Return to Evacuated Towns in the Shomron

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — Forty-four members of Knesset have signed a bill calling for repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Law that would allow Israelis to return legally to Homesh and other sites in the Shomron that were evacuated under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Ynet reported on Tuesday.

The bill was introduced by Religious Zionist party MK Orit Strock and Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, and with the backing of the head of the Shomron Regional Council Yossi Dagan.

“We’ve been elected … to govern and restore security to the State of Israel. The first step to change the perception starts here,” said Edelstein, former speaker of the Knesset and current chairman of the Homesh lobby.

“We gave up territories and we received missiles. If we give up the Disengagement Law, we will get life,” he said.

This marks the seventh time the bill has been put forth in the Knesset.

The 2005 Disengagement Law mandated the evacuation and demolition of four Jewish communities in the Shomron and all of those in the Gaza Strip. The law prohibits Israelis from settling in these places without authorization.

“This the time the law will be passed. We will not wait any longer. The time has come. The public expects it,” Dagan said.

“The public’s soul has been torn apart by the move, which year after year turns out to be an even more tragic mistake than first seemed … It’s time to correct this injustice and to return home.”