Homesh

Homesh (Hebrew: חֹמֶשׁ, חומש) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank along Route 60, just south of the Palestinian towns of Silat ad-Dhahr and Fandaqumiya, illegally built on private Palestinian land. The settlement is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. In 2005, the settlement homes were demolished along with three other settlements in the northern West Bank, at the same time as the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. In 2025, the settlement was officially reestablished following Israeli government approval. It is currently home to about 20 families.

The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this, arguing that the legal status of the territory is disputed and unresolved.

In 2023, the new Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu announced it intended to legalize the Israeli outpost illegally established at the site of the previous Homesh settlement. In reaction, Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction against the Israeli government, urging it to dismantle the outpost, illegal under Israeli law, and to grant the Palestinian landowners of the area regular access to their land, something they have been systematically denied for years, due to the presence of the outpost and restrictions imposed by the IDF.

Subsequently, with Israeli government approval, Israeli settlers relocated a yeshiva established on private Palestinian land to a nearby spot designated state-owned land. The relocation was carried out despite international opposition, including repeatedly from the U.S., and the opposition of the Israeli attorney general.