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.
Holiday resort guest houses under construction in a Judean Desert nature reserve under Palestinian Authority control, Aug. 21, 2024. Photo: Josh Hasten.
Israeli government officials, local municipalities and NGOs are waiting to see whether Israel’s Civil Administration will implement a recent cabinet decision calling for Israel to reclaim responsibility from the Palestinian Authority for a nature reserve just east of Gush Etzion in the Judean Desert.