Heavy machinery rolled into the Judean hills Monday morning as Israeli forces launched the largest demolition operation in a decade against a Jewish community in Gush Etzion. The target: Givat Tzur Misgavi, a two-year-old Jewish community where 25 families built their homes on Israeli land. While hundreds of police officers surrounded the community protesters rushed to the scene, incredulous that their own government was tearing down Jewish homes while leaving thousands of illegal Arab structures untouched across Judea and Samaria.
The families of Givat Tzur Misgavi, also known as Givat Hatilim, established their community north of Metzad specifically to prevent a Palestinian Authority takeover from the nearby village of Si’ir. For two years, they built homes, raised children, and constructed a synagogue on land owned by the Israeli state.
“At a time when our enemies are trying to undermine our hold on the land, it is the government that is directing tools and efforts against the pioneers of settlement. This is an unacceptable, anti-Zionist, and dangerous move that harms the very heart of the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel,” the Nachala Movement declared.
Rabbi Ari Abramowitz, co-founder of the Arugot Farm in eastern Gush Etzion, captured the residents rage and bewilderment. “There are 40 families, families with children who are putting themselves in harm’s way to secure state land for the nation of Israel, so that European Union-funded jihadist Arabs won’t steal it,” he said. “They’re protecting the land, but now the government is coming and destroying their homes.”
Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel, who also co-founded Arugot, described the operation as catastrophic for the affected families. “The government is destroying dozens of homes,” he said. “This was totally unannounced. No one was prepared for this.”
The inhabitants of Givat Hatilim have intentionally constructed this community to avert any further unlawful land seizures by the Palestinians. Discussions regarding the formation of a Palestinian state continue to be propagated among those who are fixated and misguided, while Members of Knesset such as Bezalel Smotrich strive to promote development in Judea and Samaria. Collectively, these factors contribute to a distorted framework regarding the continued development and protection of a sovereign nation.
