Likud Coalition Chairman Miki Zohar has submitted a bill with New Right Party MP Betzalel Smotrich to resettle Israeli settlers in four settlements in the northern West Bank that were evacuated in 2005.
The move was interpreted as an attempt to make up for Israel’s stalled annexation plan.
Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005, in a unilateral step taken by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, destroyed the 21 settlements and evacuated its 8,500 settlers under the Disengagement Law.
The four settlements near Jenin were also evacuated, but were kept under Israeli control.
The bill seeks to repeal the article that restricts the freedom of movement of Israelis in areas in northern Samaria.
Smotrich said the enactment of this law will be a “correction of error” represented in the withdrawal from Gaza and the evacuation of these four settlements.
Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan welcomed the bill, noting that he has been suffering for the past 15 years from his separation from “home.”
“Our evacuation was a crime against humanity,” he stressed, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt the bill and hasten in returning settlers.
