The US State Department on Monday condemned the construction of a permanent building for the Homesh yeshiva in the West Bank.
The US is "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 spokesperson said.
The spokesperson further reiterated that the US sees this as "inconsistent with both former Prime Minister Sharon’s written commitment to the Bush Administration in 2004 and the current Israeli government’s commitments to the Biden Administration."
"Our view has been clear and consistent: The expansion of settlements undermines the geographic viability of a two-state solution, exacerbates tensions, and further harms trust between the parties. This is consistent with the views of previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican," the spokesperson added. "We regularly engage with Israeli officials on this issue and will continue to do so."
The US repeatedly condemned the return to Homesh
Last week, the US had already rebuked Israel over the same issue. "We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government's order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which according to Israeli law was illegally built on private Palestinian land," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The State Department has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from any moves that escalate tensions with Palestinians, like formalizing settler outposts, and specifically warned it over Homesh.
The Knesset passed the Disengagement Repeal Law in March, allowing Israelis to return to areas in northern Samaria that had to be evacuated due to the Disengagement in 2005.
The Homesh yeshiva is in a Northern Samaria town that Israel withdrew from as part of the 2005 disengagement, together with the evacuation of Gaza. The Knesset passed the Disengagement Repeal Law in March, legalizing a return to some of areas of Northern Samaria.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered IDF Central Command head Yehuda Fox to sign an order earlier this month, officially allowing Israelis enter Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim.
Lahav Harkov, Khaled Abu Toameh and Reuters contribued to this story.