Hundreds of Jewish activists today poured into a West Bank settlement evacuated by Israel in 2005 and are planning to re-establish a Jewish presence.
Jewish activist
Israeli soldiers looked on as activists entered the abandoned settlement of Homesh in the northern West Bank. The group hoisted an Israeli flag over a water tower and set up tents.
Israel evacuated 8,500 Jewish settlers in 2005 from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip as well as four small settlements in the West Bank, including Homesh.
Since the evacuation, Israelis have been prohibited from re-entering Homesh, which once to house over 200 settlers.
"We are securing a passage for Israeli civilians to avoid clashes with Palestinians in the area," an Israeli military spokesman said.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert brushed aside the presence of the protesters as "a one-day visit to Homesh by some sympathisers".
"At the end of the day it will end, and I certainly hope that we will not need to use any other measures to make sure that this place remains as it was yesterday," Mr Olmert said.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said he hoped to avoid violence but added that those ignoring the authorities will be pulled out "without compromise".
Israeli protesters said they were in Homesh to stay. "We are here to build a new the settlement," Yossi Dagan said. One of the organisers of the protest said a "nucleus of 30 families" planned to resettle in Homesh.
About 270,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank among 2.5 million Palestinians. The World Court has ruled that settlements built on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War are illegal.