A view from the Jewish community of Neve Daniel in the Gush Etzion region of Judea, Oct. 11, 2022. Photo by Gershon Elinson/Flash90.
(September 4, 2024 / JNS) Last month, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration set borders known as “blue lines” for a new 150-acre Gush Etzion town called Nahal Heletz, located in the Judean hills just outside of Jerusalem, in an area with a Jewish presence dating back thousands of years.
A Jewish resident of Judea and Samaria herds sheep near his community, Aug. 20, 2023. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
For the second time in as many months, the U.S. State Department, in coordination with the U.S. Treasury, is again issuing financial sanctions against Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.
Soldiers and families of soldiers who fell in battle against Hamas pray at the renovated synagogue at the Lamed-Hey IDF base in Gush Etzion on Mon., March 4, 2024. Photo: Josh Hasten.
Family members of 16 soldiers from Gush Etzion and Efrat who fell defending the State of Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre gathered on Monday at a military base in the Gush’s western foothills to dedicate the base’s newly expanded synagogue in memory of their loved ones.
On today’s Israel Uncensored, Josh Hasten shares how yesterday in Gush Etzion a knife-wielding terrorist, initially using his car as a weapon to try and ram into Israeli civilians and soldiers, was neutralized by Israeli security forces. Josh heard shots outside his window from just 50 meters away, and realized a security event was taking place. Thanks to alert security patrolmen, the terrorist, who was hoping to get out of his car and stab any Jew in sight after his failed ramming-attempt, didn’t get the chance.
Photo Credit: SolOrionBrando
On Sunday, an Israeli man and his two daughters were wounded in a terrorist shooting just outside the Gush Etzion community of Tekoa. Prayers are needed for the full recovery of El-Roi Kapach (El-Roi Ben Batsheva), who was seriously wounded in the attack, and is in stable condition in a Jerusalem hospital, after undergoing surgery. The Arab terrorist who carried out the shooting was apprehended several hours later in the PA-controlled town of Bethlehem. Details on this attack and all the latest news from Israel, on this week’s Israel Uncensored, with Josh Hasten.
The Route 60 Tunnel Road runs from Jerusalem to Gush Etzion. Photo by Justin McIntosh via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety announced this week that it has submitted an unprecedented 50 billion shekel (around $13.7 billion) budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance towards the development and improvement of transportation over the next five years.
Efrat residents gather in the city’s Sukkah of Peace, October 16, 2022. Credit: Josh Hasten.
Defying possible retribution by the Palestinian Authority and others, around 20 Arabs who live under the P.A. in Gush Etzion joined with some 50 of their Jewish neighbors to break bread and get to know one another, at the traditional “Sukkah of Peace in Efrat” during the recent holiday.
On today’s Israel Uncensored, Josh Hasten shares what his commute to Jerusalem from Gush Etzion looked like this morning as Arab terrorists finished attacking an Israeli bus near Tekoa, and were then rioting in their village. IDF troops arrived at the scene to disperse those responsible. Nevertheless, the last few days have seen a slew of rock and firebomb attacks, along with shootings on the roads of Judea and Samaria. Josh says that the political echelon must direct the IDF to use all its might and all tools at its disposal to squash the hornet’s nests of terror.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_around_the_clock.jpg
Josh Hasten, International Spokesman for the Gush Etzion Regional Council: Jews makes it clear to their Arab neighbors that Jewish communities will be part of the landscape in the area for all eternity at the 7 Arutz Sheva – Israel National News – Jerusalem Conference in New York City, May 22, 2022.
Josh Hasten was interviewed on Israel National News – Arut Sheva on May 2, 2022.