As the candidates battle it out for mayor of Gush Etzion on Tuesday, on Tuesday evening a new community was established in Gush Etzion. Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Shlomo Ne’eman, said, “This is truly dramatic. We have worked on this for many months.”
The name of the new community is Mishmar Yehuda. The approval orders were signed by Major General of the Central Command, Yehuda Fuchs, which is in of itself interesting, as Fuchs is generally not considered to be a close friend of the settlement enterprise.
Shlomo Ne’eman, said this evening that this is a very dramatic event of a sweet nature, “This is an enormous gift for the residents of Gush Etzion. It is our best answer to terrorism and to those who want to deprive us of our ancestral land. This is our answer to extremists who want to remove us from the place where our forefathers tread. This is also our answer to the nations of the world. We will continue onwards and strengthen Gush Etzion with more residents, more schools, more roads, and more kindergartens. Together we will triumph.”
The community will be built in the north-eastern section of Gush Etzion, near Kedar.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the decision, “We will continue the momentum of settlement throughout the country, congratulations to Gush Etzion, congratulations to the settlement and congratulations to the State of Israel. This is our answer to the extremists who want to move us from the place where our ancestors walked. And this is also our answer to the peoples of the world. We will continue and strengthen Gush Etzion with more residents, more schools, more roads and more kindergartens. Together we will win.
