Israeli authorities signed a planning contract on Thursday for Bar Kochva, a new community in Judea that will connect Gush Etzion to Jerusalem, situated between Sde Boaz and Har Gilo.
The signing follows a Cabinet decision a year ago to establish the community and comes months after the first mobile home neighborhood was set up on the site.
Bar Kochva is situated on a ridge where no Jewish community has existed since the fall of Beitar—the final stronghold of the Bar Kochva revolt—to the Romans in 135 C.E., symbolizing the historic return of the Jewish people to its land and roots.
“We are proud to lead the establishment of this new community, which will strengthen Gush Etzion, connect it to Jerusalem, and restore Israeli sovereignty to a historic ridge that stood abandoned for generations,” said Yaron Rosenthal, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.
“Bar Kochva will redefine the area and stand as a symbol of Zionism, resilience and rooted presence in the land. We are privileged to witness this moment,” he added.
The development comes after the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration last September 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.
The new community, also known as “Neve Ori,” in memory of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, a Gush resident who was murdered in 2019 by an Arab terrorist, will essentially create a contiguous Jewish presence between the Etzion bloc community of Neve Daniel and Jerusalem’s southern neighborhood of Gilo.
In March, Israel’s Cabinet recognized 13 neighborhoods of existing Judea and Samaria towns as separate communities, allowing for their expansion and development as independent localities.
The move was led by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also manages civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria.
“We continue, with God’s help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlements,” Smotrich declared. “Instead of hiding and apologizing, we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the way to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
