Kadim reopening marks final reversal of 2005 Disengagement Plan
The return of 30 families to Kadim completes the formal reopening of all settlements evacuated in 2005, a move that defies international legal consensus and intensifies tensions in the Jenin area ahead of October’s elections.
Israel has officially reopened the settlement of Kadim in the occupied West Bank, 21 years after it was evacuated under the 2005 Disengagement Plan. Thirty “pioneer families” from Tel Aviv arrived on Thursday, bringing bedding, furniture, and building materials to the site. The regional settlers’ council confirmed the arrival, describing the move as driven by a wave of nationalism from the current Israeli government.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attended the opening ceremony, declaring the return a “correction” of the previous expulsion. He was joined by the Justice Minister, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, and regional settlers’ council head Yossi Dagan, who vowed that settlers would one day return to Gaza. Kadim is the last of four settlements evacuated in 2005 to be formally reopened, following the earlier re-establishment of Ganim, Sanur, and Homesh.
The reopening occurs despite growing international protests, with all Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law. Since late 2022, the Israeli government has approved more than 100 new settlements across the West Bank, including 19 in the northern West Bank. Hagit Ofran, director of the Settlement Watch programme at Peace Now, stated that the rapid construction in Jenin is part of a wider race by the Israeli government to expand settlements before Israeli elections are held in October.
Nearby Palestinian residents report fear and displacement, citing demolished shops, restricted movement, and the construction of new military infrastructure. A café and dozens of Palestinian shops along the road from Kadim to Israel were demolished by the Israeli army in recent weeks. The Israel Defence Forces confirmed that construction of a military outpost in Jabriyat, on seized Palestinian land beside Jenin Refugee Camp, was ordered “in accordance with operational needs.”
Palestinian Authority Governor for Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, stated that the seizure of land around the refugee camp signals a plan to house settlers there. He described the past two decades without settlers around Jenin as “bliss,” contrasting it with the current situation which he said limits movement and involves the bulldozing of lands. The new settlement of Emek Dotan, located to the west of Jenin, was formally opened last Sunday and is now home to almost two dozen Jewish families.
