Washington summons Israeli ambassador over the law of return to the four settlements in the West Bank

The Israel Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday that the United States has summoned Israeli Ambassador Mike Herzog, following the Knesset's approval of the repeal of the so-called "Disengagement Law", which allows return to 4 settlements in the occupied West Bank that were evacuated in 2005.

The Israeli body added that Ambassador Herzog met with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who expressed her country's deep "concern" about the Israeli move.

Under Knesset law, settlers would be allowed to return to settlements that were evacuated in the West Bank, but did not include Gush Katif settlements, which Israel vacated in the Gaza Strip 18 years ago.

Israeli Settlement Minister Orit Struck said the settlements from which Tel Aviv withdrew in the Gaza Strip in 2005 "are part of the Land of Israel, and the day will come when we return to it."

Struck, who is from the extremist Religious Zionism party, added that the important stage today is "the return to northern Samaria (the Hebrew name for the West Bank)," stressing that "the sin of disengagement as a whole will eventually be corrected."

Following the passage of the law, the US State Department considered the Israeli Knesset law a "provocation" and a violation of the commitment Israel made to the administration of (former US President) George W. Bush 20 years ago.

The European Union called on Israel to cancel it, and the bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said it "has the opposite effect on efforts to reduce tension, and hinders the possibility of confidence-building measures and the creation of a political horizon for dialogue."

In a statement, Borrell described the Knesset's decision as a "clear step backwards," stressing that the EU views the settlements as "illegal under international law, a major obstacle to peace and a threat to the viability of the two-state solution."

In August 2005, Israel evacuated four settlements in the northern West Bank, Ghanim, Kadim, Homash, and Sanur, as well as Gush Katif in southern Gaza, as part of Israel's "disengagement" plan under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.