An Israel Hayom report on a plan to build a new section of the security barrier that would essentially separate Gush Etzion from the rest of the country infuriated MKs on the right.
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The Gush Etzion, just south of Jerusalem in Judea and Samaria, includes many Israeli settlements. It has for all intents and purposes become a suburb of the capital. The security barrier Israel has built in Judea and Samaria is designed to stop terrorists from crossing into Israeli cities, but it has never been completed due to various legal and environmental challenges. In the area of Gush Etzion the section that was set to be constructed has been in limbo for some 20 years in part because of concern over the impact it would have on the natural habitat of wildlife and because of political opposition to a de-facto border that would separate the area from Jerusalem and central Israel.
"Gush Etzion will not be severed from Jerusalem, definitely not on our watch," Liku MK Ariel Kallner told Israel Hayom. "Even though the battle against illegal crossing is very important, cutting the connection between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem is something that is beyond the pale, definitely in a right-wing government such as this one." He vowed to convene the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss the matter "as soon as possible."
Limor Sonn Har Melech, from the far-Right party Otzma Yehudit, echoed his comments. "We are celebrating today [Thursday] Jerusalem Day [marking the reunification of the city in 1967] and the return of the People of Israel to many areas of the land; we won't let any community be isolated on our watch. The solution to the illegal crossings is not a fence but construction that would create territorial contiguity between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem."
According to the original Israel Hayom report, the construction of that section of the barrier is set to begin in the near term and land has already been expropriated. The overall result could be akin to making Gush Etzion settlements a de-facto enclave that is separate from the rest of the country even though it has long been part of the national consensus with a broad understanding on both the Left and the Right that it will remain under Israeli control in any future peace deal.
The new barrier will not be uniform because of the unique topographical features of the area and the efforts to minimize the impact on nature, and in some parts will not see construction but rather just special monitoring technology and sensors. Other parts that will be constructed will include special ramps for wildlife to cross.
The IDF said in a statement that "the decision to build the barrier in the area was made as part of Operation Breakwater [launched in 2023 in Judea and Samaria to eradicate terrorism] in order to boost defense and to prevent the illegal entry into the Israeli homefront of undocumented individuals and the trafficking of weapons, as well as to thwart terrorist attacks."
The statement further said that no date has been set for construction to begin and that it won't be a concrete barrier that is common in other parts of the project. "There is not going to be a severance of Jerusalem from Gush Etzion, and there are going to be other means of connecting the two. The IDF works to preserve nature and therefore the activity will be proportional and professional, and in collaboration with the various agencies and environmental organizations."
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