Inside the Secret Battle to Reclaim Homesh
A new documentary series supported by the Shomron Cinema Fund reveals the six-year journey of yeshiva students who lived and studied in the ruins of Homesh prior to the repeal of the Disengagement Law.
A new three-part documentary series titled "Five-Year Plan" (Tochnit Homesh) is set to premiere this week, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the struggle to maintain a Jewish presence in the ruins of the Homesh settlement. Produced with the support of the Shomron Cinema Fund and the Gush Katif and Northern Samaria Commemoration Center, the series follows the persistent efforts of yeshiva students to return to the area following the 2005 disengagement.
The release marks Gush Katif and Northern Samaria Day in Israeli schools, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal and approximately one month before the scheduled historic return of Homesh residents to permanent structures.
Created by filmmakers Yoav Elitzur and Eli Singer, the documentary is the result of over six years of continuous filming. It documents the extreme conditions faced by the students of the Homesh Yeshiva, who studied in secret within caves and open fields in an area that was legally defined as off-limits to Israeli citizens for nearly two decades.
The series captures the daily reality of the students: navigating hidden paths to avoid security forces, enduring repeated evacuations, and maintaining a presence through harsh weather. A central turning point in the film is the 2021 terror attack in which student Yehuda Dimentman was killed. The event triggered a massive march of 20,000 people to Homesh, a movement that ultimately led to the legislative repeal of the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria.
"This series is a living testimony to the spirit of pioneers who refused to accept the injustice of the expulsion," said Yossi Dagan, Head of the Shomron Regional Council and Chairman of the Shomron Cinema Fund. Dagan, who was himself displaced from the Sa-Nur settlement in 2005, described the work as an "authentic creation."
Yoav Elitzur, one of the series' creators, noted that the project began as a documentation of a "stubborn dream" that eventually transformed into a historic shift for the future of settlements in the region. Co-creator Eli Singer added that the camera was able to access locations and personal moments never before seen by the Israeli public, capturing the establishment of a community against all odds.