The Israeli army prevented dozens of Palestinians from the village of Burka from reaching the site of the abandoned settlement of Homesh in the northern West Bank, a week after the state said it had revoked a ban on Palestinians accessing the land. Homesh was evacuated as part of Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005, which also involved withdrawing from several northern West Bank settlements. In 2013 the state cancelled the order that had allowed the land to be seized, but Israelis have continued to visit the area for years, which the state acknowledged in response to a court petition. In October 2017 the army issued a blanket ban for Israelis and Palestinians alike on entering the site. Last week the ban on Palestinian visitors to the site was lifted in response to a petition to the High Court of Justice by the landowners and the nongovernmental organization Yesh Din. According to the state response to the petition, Israelis are still denied entry to the area as part of the implementation of the 2005 disengagement plan.
— source jfjfp.com | Dec 18, 2019