Last update - 00:00 19/04/2007
IDF approves march to former West Bank settlement of Homesh
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
The Israel Defense Forces Central Command said Thursday that it would allow West Bank settlers evacuated during the 2005 disengagement to march to their former homes in Homesh.
The decision comes after organizers of the march promised to obey
the instructions of security forces and not try to settle the area permanently.
The march is planned for Independence Day next week but no request for coordination has been made.
Following the disengagement, a law was passed prohibiting Israeli citizens from settling in the evacuated settlements of Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim in the northern West Bank.
Former residents of the northern West Bank settlement spent two days at the ruins of the settlement just a few weeks ago, following a protest march to the site. After the two-day protest, they put up only passive resistance as police evacuated them.
"There is no greater gift for Independence Day than returning to Zionist values of building and ideology," the radio quoted march organizer Yossi Dagan as saying.
"Thousands will march to Homesh, in a happy and beautiful manner," added Dagan, today a resident of the Shavei Shomron settlement.
According to the report, the IDF will try to avoid a violent confrontation at any cost, and military officials told Army Radio that if the settlers do coordinate with them, they will even supply security for the demonstrators, despite the fact that the area is a closed military zone.
The IDF Spokesman told Army Radio that the decision to allow the protest march was made by the government. The Defense Ministry, however, denied any knowledge of another planned protest march to Homesh, the radio said.
Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin conmdemned the decision to allow the march to go ahead.
"This is a moment of great shame for the weak government, which simply cannot say 'no'," Beilin said. "This is a situation they must not stand for. There has been no disengagement. It is as if the withdrawal was only make believe."