Gush Etzion Junction

Geography

Gush Etzion Junction is located in the northern Judean Hills at about 950 m above sea level. The junction is a 25 m diameter roundabout at the intersection of Route 60 and Route 367. Nearby communities include Efrat, Elazar, Alon Shvut, Kfar Etzion, Migdal Oz and Beit Fajjar. It is a 15-minute drive to the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.

History

In 1926, Zichron David purchased lands that included the area of this junction, with the aim of establishing a Jewish settlement on the Jerusalem-Hebron highway.

In 1933, Shmuel Zvi Holtzman purchased the place from Zichron David. He then established a clinic at this junction for both Jewish and Arab residents living in the area to maintain good neighborly relations.{{Cite web |title=אתר ההיסטוריה וההנצחה של כפר עציון |trans-title= Kfar Etzion History and Commemoration Site |publisher=Etzion Bloc |url=https://www.etzion-bloc.org.il/tabid/55/Default.aspx?PageContentID=565 |archive-date=18 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018114913/https://www.etzion-bloc.org.il/tabid/55/Default.aspx?PageContentID=565 |language=he }}

Establishments

Adjacent to the junction on the northwest are a plant nursery, a shop selling snacks, cigarettes and lottery tickets and The Gush Etzion Winery and its mehadrin dairy/fish restaurant, BaYekev.

On the southwest are a gas station, an automotive repair shop, an electronics store, a Judaica center and a Rami Levy discount supermarket. Attached to the supermarket is a hamburger joint, a pizzeria and a discount clothing store, all part of the Rami Levi group. In 2015 a competing chain of supermarkets, Shufersal opened a store.

In 2007, Rami Levy had begun construction of , a two-story shopping mall as an extension to the south side of the supermarket and above it. This mall opened in late 2015.

A visitors' center is located 4 km to the west in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion as is the mehadrin dairy/fish restaurant, Gavna.

Attacks

The hitchhiking post at the junction has been the site of a number of shootings and stabbings, as well as several failed attempts at attacks.

Attacks

• October 2005: Three killed, three injured in a shooting attack at the junction.
• January 2006: A Palestinian man stabs an Israeli man and girl; the attacker is shot and injured by an off-duty police officer.
• December 2009: A woman is stabbed in the back by a Palestinian man.
• November 2015: 2015 Gush Etzion Junction shooting on November 19, 2015, a Palestinian man shot and killed 3 people (including American student, Ezra Schwartz, and Alon Shvut resident Rabbi Yaakov Don) and wounded 5. On November 23, 2015, A Palestinian man stabbed and killed a 21-year-old student Hadar Buchris. He was shot and killed by security forces at the scene. In response, the government is planning bypass roads to separate Israeli vehicles from Palestinian vehicles at this junction.
• September 2018: A Palestinian teenager, Khalil Jabarin, 17, from Yatta fatally stabbed a 45-year-old Israeli-American man who lived in Efrat, Ari Fuld, at a shopping mall near the Gush Etzion junction.

Attempted attacks

• November 2010: A Palestinian man attempted to stab Israeli civilians at the junction and was arrested by the IDF.
• January 2011: Shots were fired in the area; there were no injuries.
• October 2015: A Palestinian man tried to ram into Israelis waiting at a bus stop but hit the concrete blocks placed there to stop such attacks. A 20-year-old IDF soldier and a 21-year-old Israeli civilian were lightly wounded. He exited his car with a knife drawn and tried to stab his victims and was shot and killed.
• March 2016 On March 15, 2016, an Arab woman described by authorities as a terrorist was injured after she drove her car to attack a bus shelter, but lost control as IDF soldiers shot into her car, and crashed into bollard poles protecting the bus stop before she could hurt anyone. She was immediately apprehended and taken to hospital for treatment of her injuries.

References

References

1. Ben Gedalyahu, Tzvi. (13 December 2009). "Arab Terrorist Stabs Jewish Woman at Gush Etzion". [[Arutz Sheva]].
2. (1977). "Migdal Adar - A Lonely Jewish Village on the Road to Hebron".
3. Ben Yaakov, Yochanan. (1946). "Gush Etzion from Its Beginnings to 1948 --- "The Story of the First Jewish Settlement Between Hebron and Jerusalem"". [[Yad Ben Zvi]].
4. (26 December 1933). "מגדל עדר - כפר עציון". [[Davar]].
5. "Gush Etzion Wineries". Gush Etzion.
6. "Welcome to Gush Etzion Winery's restaurant".
7. Bar-Am, Aviva. (17 September 2010). "Take a Tour of Gush Etzion". [[The Jerusalem Post]].
8. Abelow, Peter. (Winter 1999). "Gush Eztion". OU.
9. Rebacz, Mark. (16 July 2010). "Cornering the Supermarket?". The Jerusalem Post.
10. Fendel, Hillel. (21 July 2010). "Gush Etzion Foresees 50 Percent Growth Rate". [[Arutz Sheva]].
11. (21 September 2015). "לראשונה: קניון בצומת הגוש". [[Israel National News]].
12. HaLevi, Ezra. (15 September 2006). "Photo Feature: Hilltop Restaurant Bridges Shades of Old and New". Arutz Sheva.
13. (17 October 2005). "3 Killed, 4 Wounded in Shooting Attacks". One Family Fund.
14. Lis, Jonathan. (3 January 2006). "2 Stabbed at Gush Etzion junction". [[Haaretz]].
15. Weiss, Efrat. (13 December 2009). "Stabbing attack: in Gush Etzion, 1 injured". [[Ynetnews]].
16. (22 November 2015). "Hadar Buchris, 21, murdered at Etzion junction, to be laid to rest". Timesofisrael.
17. (14 December 2015). "West Bank Shopping Complex, a Symbol of Coexistence, Is Shaken". New York Times.
18. (23 November 2015). "Benjamin Netanyahu Plans Separate Bypass Roads for Israelis in Parts of West Bank". [[New York Times]].
19. Schwartz, Felicia. (16 September 2018). "Israeli-American Fatally Stabbed in the West Bank". [[WSJ]].
20. (25 November 2010). "Palestinian attempts to stab Israeli civilians at Gush Etzion junction". [[Israel Defence Forces]].
21. (25 January 2011). "Gush Etzion: Shots fired, IDF combing area". Ynetnews.
22. (20 October 2015). "IDF soldier stabbed in fourth attack of the day". Ynetnews.
23. (March 15, 2016). "Ramming Attack Foiled at Gush Etzion Junction". Jewish Press.
24. (15 March 2017). "Female assailant shot during suspected car-ramming attempt". Times of Israel.