‘The Disengagement is dead!’ Settlers open first kindergarten in Homesh in 20 years
“We will also open new children’s gardens to Gush Kative,” said Yossi Dagan, referring to the colony of Gaza dismantled by force during the disengagement.
A kindergarten opened its doors in the Homemesh colony on Monday at the start of the school year for the first time in 20 years.
It is the first kindergarten to be opened in one of the former colonies evacuated during the disengagement of 2005, during which thousands of Jewish Israelis were forcibly expelled from their houses in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
This opening is part of a renewed push to rebuild the communities and extend the network of Israeli colonies in the north of the Samaria.
The head of the Samaria regional council, Yossi, Dagan, has promised to rebuild the other colonies which were destroyed in disengagement, as well as to establish several other colonies in the region. “We will also open new children’s gardens to Gush Katif,” he said, referring to the colony of Gaza dismantled by force during disengagement.
“The disengagement is dead. The inhabitants of Israel live!” Dagan said during the kindergarten opening ceremony.
Visitors walk near the water tower on the ruins of the colony evacuated from Homesh on August 27, 2019. (Credit: Hillel Maeir / Flash90)
“We are now in a moment of sweet victory for Zionism and the people of Israel. Justice still comes – even if it takes 20 years.”
“It’s a historic moment,” said the chief of the council, addressing children in the new kindergarten. “One day, you will be adults, and you can tell your children and grandchildren that you have opened the first kindergarten in Homesh. And thanks to this, there will be many children’s gardens in all the displaced communities.”
The Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, praised the opening as “a Zionist, construction and colony act”.
“I salute the pioneering settlers who strengthen sovereignty in the region. The Ministry of Education, under my direction, will provide education to all the Jewish colonies in the country of Israel.”
The event was also announced by the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.
“The opening of the new kindergarten is not only an educational event, but a symbol of rebirth and renewed life in the heart of the Samaria,” he said. “Children who start their day here with laughter and songs are the real answer to anyone who thought that the colony would be uprooted. With the help of God, we will continue to build, develop and deepen our roots in all regions of our homeland.”
Ayala Levy, Homesh’s last kindergarten teacher, also attended the event before disengagement.
“It’s a very moving moment,” she said. “I never dreamed that one day I would go back to a kindergarten.”
The new kindergarten teacher of the colony, Atara, was grateful for the opening of the new kindergarten.
“Thank you all,” she said. “The kindergarten will be the most beautiful and sweetest place in the world.”
“Twenty years ago, we were expelled from here, and we also have 20 years of struggle with us to return,” said Benny Gal, the Homesh families representative and deportees during the ceremony. “The hearts of Homesh settlers tried to return one day after the expulsion, and they continued to try to come back countless times. We now have the privilege of seeing salvation, the fulfillment of a prophecy, with our own eyes.”
A History of Homesh: A Settlement has demolished and is now trying to rebuild
Homesh is a colony in the north of the Samaria in the West Bank which was forcibly evacuated in 2005 during the disengagement, all the demolished houses and structures.
The Homesh site was recognized by Israel as legally belonging by the Palestinians, although the owners were not allowed to return to their land.
Attempts have been made on several occasions to establish illegal outposts or a Yeshiva in the region, which have all encountered an opposition repeated by the FDI.
Although the Homemesh regulation was not officially rebuilt, the government revoked the disengagement in March 2023. In addition, a decision of May 2025 allowed a renewed regulation activity in the north of the Samaria, including in Homesh, which helped to arouse renewed efforts to rebuild the city.
According to YnetHomesh currently has 20 families who live there, the Homeh Yeshiva having registered 50 students. The new kindergarten currently has around 20 children registered.
