Netanyahu clarifies: Israel not reestablishing towns in northern Samaria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is not planning to rebuilding towns demolished during the 2005 Disengagement, despite the Knesset’s passage late Monday night of legislation nullifying parts of the Disengagement Law.

In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office Wednesday morning, Netanyahu expressed support for the law, passed by the Knesset 31 to 18, which nixes the bars Israelis from the parts of northern Samaria which were evacuated in 2005.

Along with all 21 of the Israeli towns in the Gaza Strip, the Ariel Sharon government also evacuated four towns in northern Samaria – Ganim, Kadim, Sa-Nur, and Homesh.

The Disengagement Law barred Israelis from returning to the sites of the demolished towns.

“The decision by the Knesset to nullify parts of the Disengagement has brought an end to the law which discriminates against Jews living in parts of northern Samaria, a part of our historic homeland,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. READ MORE