The Israeli Knesset approved an amendment after its second and third readings that would permit Israeli settlers to go back to places in the West Bank which were evacuated in 2005 when Ariel Sharon was the Israeli Prime Minister and enacted his disengagement plans.

Only one day after the multilateral talks between a Palestinian delegation and the Israeli occupation at a summit in Egypt, where Israel reiterated its commitment to halt the construction of new settlements in the West Bank and legalize outposts, the repeal of the disengagement law was announced.

On Monday, the vote that took place late Monday evening was approved by 31 legislators, compared to 18 who voted against it.

In December, Israeli legislators with extreme right–wing views proposed a bill to overturn the prohibition on entering four settlements in the West Bank – Homesh, Sa–Nur, Ganim and Kadim – that were emptied when the Israeli occupation retreated from the Gaza Strip.

Since the disengagement of 2005, which involved the evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and certain areas of the northern West Bank, Israeli settlers have been prohibited from entering these sites.