Memos 
Live events & webinars 
Trend Reports
TEL AVIV — Relations between Israel and the United States — tense since the establishment of the right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu and its plan for a judicial overhaul — were further aggravated this week following the relocation on Monday by settlers of the makeshift yeshiva in the West Bank Homesh outpost from Palestinian private land to a nearby state-owned plot.
“We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s recent order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank,” a State Department statement said on Monday.
The yeshiva in Homesh is small, with only 70 students and one rabbi. Still, it managed to set a resounding historical, legal and political precedent this week by moving into permanent quarters on contested land in the West Bank, marking a victory for Israel’s nationalist, pro-settlement camp.
Homesh, together with three other West Bank settlements, was evacuated and razed in the framework of the 2005 Gaza disengagement. Israelis have since been banned by law from living in any of the four locations. The Homesh yeshiva has been operating in recent years by claiming that it was an academic institution and its students do not live there on a permanent basis, and therefore was not violating the ban on settling there. In fact, students were clearly living on the grounds.
Two months ago, the Knesset repealed part of the 2005 Disengagement Law, allowing Israelis to travel to the four demolished settlements, but not to rebuild them or settle there, in a move strongly condemned by the United States and by the European Union. In addition, Palestinian residents of the nearby Burqa village petitioned the High Court to demolish the Homesh yeshiva, located on private Palestinian lands. Thus, the settlers decided to relocate it, with more permanent structures replacing the tents originally used.
Israeli officials have claimed that the repeal of the Disengagement Law allows the relocation of the yeshiva from the ruins of the Homesh settlement to adjacent state land. That being said, such a move clearly requires a lengthy statutory approval process, which did not take place. Securing the move, the military was placed in an untenable position of collaborating with an illegal action.
In a brief ceremony at the new site, head of the Samaria settlement council Yossi Dagan installed a mezuza at the entrance, calling it a "historical moment” that “rectified not only a personal injustice toward those expelled [from Homesh] but to all the people of Israel.”
Throughout decades of controversial Israeli settlement of the predominantly Palestinian territory, illegal activities were carried out by the settlers themselves, seeking to expand their hold on the land and periodically clashing with troops sent to dismantle ad hoc settlements. This time, the government — or at least parts of it — is clearly behind the move, in clear provocation vis-a-vis the Palestinians, the Biden administration and the EU.
Former military chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, currently an opposition lawmaker, believes the move reflects the unprecedented appointment of two defense ministers. The first is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in charge of overall defense matters. The second is Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry hard-line nationalist Bezalel Smotrich, who is in charge of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Eizenkot noted that the division of authority among these two is unclear, allowing for murky policy moves and a measure of deniability.
“Israel broke an explicit promise to previous American administrations and also to the current American administration only two months ago," Eizenkot said.
He was referring to Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. At the time, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon committed to President George Bush not to rebuild the West Bank settlements. He also referred to commitments by the current Netanyahu government at the Aqaba and Sharm al-Sheikh summits to freeze settlement expansion, at least for a few months. In addition, Prime Minister Netanyahu committed to the Biden administration that despite the repeal of the 2005 ban two months ago, Israel would not build new outposts on the lands of the four demolished settlements.
In regard to the American claims over breaching commitments, national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told the military radio station on Tuesday, "I don't know what breach of promise they [Americans] are talking about. … There was no commitment regarding the structure of a yeshiva that was relocated from a certain place that the Palestinians probably rightly claimed was private land to another land that is state-owned."
"It's not just Homesh," a senior US diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "it's all that's happening; it's the fact that no one bothers to act according to the law anymore; it's the fact that Smotrich declares that he intends to double the number of settlers in the territories; it's the fact that there's a feeling that the Israelis are doing everything to generate provocations in as little time as possible."
The yeshiva relocation comes at a critical time for the future of the Middle East. Recent indications suggest Iran is just weeks away from nuclear weaponization; speculation has reemerged about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities; Hezbollah conducted an unprecedented military exercise last week; and the Israeli military is carrying out an extensive military exercise in the north.
"Israel needs the United States today more than ever," a senior official in Jerusalem told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "It is precisely now that Israel is doing everything possible to infuriate all its allies."
What will Netanyahu do? What he usually does when playing both sides against the middle: try for damage control. US officials have already made clear to Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer their opinion of Netanyahu’s conduct.
A senior Western diplomatic source in Tel Aviv told Al-Monitor that Netanyahu’s tacit approval of the Homesh resettlement further distances prospects of a breakthrough in renewed efforts to make peace with Saudi Arabia and even Netanyahu's coveted invitation to the White House.
"Netanyahu is confident that he can continue to go with [the settlers] and pretend not to do so, eliminate any chance of calm in the territories or political negotiations with the Palestinians with one hand, and make peace with Saudi Arabia with the other. In the near future, he will realize that such a maneuver is even beyond his prowess,” said the source.
