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Benny Gantz: I don’t need anyone’s approval to evacuate the town of Evyatar

Eight years ago on May 20, 2013, Evyatar Borowski was murdered by a Muslim terrorist at the Tapuach Junction in Samaria. He was 31 years old, and left behind a wife and five young children, the oldest of whom was only seven. A settlement was established in his memory on a nearby hilltop, but was quickly demolished by the government. Fast forward eight years. 

On May 2nd, 2021, three 19-year-old yeshiva students were waiting for a ride at the Tapuach Junction bus stop. A vehicle with Palestinian license plates pulled up next to the stop and the man sitting in the passenger seat opened fire. All three of the young men were struck, and one, Yehuda Guetta, tragically died from his wounds. 

What was the reason this courageous young man died? He died for daring to be a Jew living in the land of his ancestors. 

Once again, the settlement movement re-founded the town of Evyatar on the same neighboring hilltop in memory of Evyatar Borowski and Yehuda Guetta. Almost overnight, 50 families moved into the new settlement and roads were paved. Within weeks a nursery, synagogue, water, electricity, and infrastructure were established. Within just a few weeks, the new village of Evyatar was thriving. 

This week, a “demarcation order” was issued, signed by the General Command of the Central Command. The order prevents the importation of building materials into the settlement and prohibits anyone from entering the area. Furthermore, residents of the area are required to pack up and leave. Police even sealed off the entrance to make sure that the order was carried out. These actions are simply a precursor to the entire community being demolished. 

With Israel’s new government set to be sworn in this Sunday, many decried the fact that the demolition of a settlement in Judea and Samaria would go down in history as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s last act. 

Perhaps to counter that move, Netanyahu asked Defense Minister Benny Gantz to postpone the order until next week, when it will then fall on the new government to make the decision on whether or not to demolish the community. 

In an apparent response of defiance, Benny Gantz responded to the prime minister saying that he didn’t need anyone’s approval to evacuate the town of Evyatar. 

“There is no instruction whatsoever in the law that declares that issuing an order sealing off an area in Judea and Samaria requires the approval of the Prime Minister,” a Defense Ministry statement said.

Typically, demolition orders are issued against settlements in Judea and Samaria that are built on private Arab land. Since the town of Evyatar was built on state land that belongs to the Samaria Regional Council, it is unclear why action is being taken to destroy it. 

Even though a new government is set to be sworn into the Knesset this Sunday, the Defense Ministry is slated to remain in the hands of Benny Gantz, who seems determined to carry through with the evacuation and demolition of Evyatar. 

There is another issue that needs to be addressed: why can the people of Israel only establish new towns in their biblical homeland when their friends and families are killed by a terrorist? One might say that Israel’s government is not always favorable towards the settlements, and therefore the leaders of Judea and Samaria must take advantage of the empathy that they receive after a terrorist attack happens. However, there is another reason as to why it is so difficult to build a home in Israel’s heartland. 

The international community as a whole condemns any and all construction in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Sadly, a large percentage of pro-Israel organizations either try to stay neutral when it comes to the issue of settlements or actually advocate against them. 

There are several pro-Israel organizations that claim to have tens of millions of followers. What would happen if these millions of pro-Israel Christians took an unequivocal stand in support of the building up of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria; the biblical heartland of Israel? 

HaYovel is taking its stand with the Jewish people as they settle in their ancient homeland. But that is not enough! We need all of the Christians of the world to stand with the promises of God and His chosen people. Please join us in this worthy cause.

Luke Hilton

Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Luke discovered his passion for Israel at age of 16. Since then, he's shared the story of Israel's restoration across the globe through speaking tours, films, and articles, inspiring Christian Zionists to stand in support of Israel.

Luke is based out of Israel, serves as Director of Marketing for HaYovel and is an author and show host for The Israel Guys.

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13 comments

  • The land belongs to the Jews and has for 3500 years. No other peoples have the right to dictate “who does what” in a land that is not theirs. God made the world and all that is in it and gives it to whomsoever He wills. He gave this land to the twelve sons of Jacob from Hamath to the river of Egypt., from the great river to the western sea.
    I am a Christian and I am strong for the nation of Israel and God’s chosen people.

  • We need to hear what is happening in Israel because our news media wants to keep us in the dark!!!Thank you for writing the truth and bringing it to light!!!!

  • I am a Christian also and I am strong for the nation of Israel and God’s chosen people. The Jews have to dictate “who does what” in a land that is not theirs. I’m not a Jew and I love the Jews, Canada has Jews from East to West. I live in New Brunswick and yes we have Jews in here also.

  • The government of Israel is obviously terrified of world opinion. They won the land by spilling their blood on it. They were attacked without reason and gained Judea and Samaria in defense of their nation. It belongs to them by international law and GODS law. Israel should do with the land as they please without interference.

  • I have been trying to plan a trip to the Promised Land for over a year now. I keep trying to hear when Israel will open safely for American travelers. The virus stopped my first attempt, then the war. I have just recently found your website and am getting more information from you than from the embassy. I am a Jew and have had a calling to go to Israel for a while. But, hearing these kinds of stories just appall me. I am impressed with your podcast and welcome any and all information you broadcast.

  • Thank you for sharing what is going on in Israel. It is crazy that any other nation would tell another nation not to build, demand not to build. That is how you build a nation! If Israel told the UN or USA to empty the state of Washington in the USA and destroy the buildings, well they would laugh and give them the proverbial finger, and yet land sits untouched in Israel unable to be established. It is more like the Hamas that blows up its own people and buildings, really there is never a reason for that. If you look at the middle east area and what the Israeli people have done for the land, it is amazing, beautiful, wonderful. But the surrounding nations just keep blowing stuff up and killing even their own people. It is not adding to the world to do this.

  • I am a true friend of Israel. I really get annoyed with all these other countries trying to force Israel into all sorts of things. Such as giving up land and rights in order to appease the Palestinians and possibly get them into a 2 state situation. As anybody knows that follow any of the inside news on Israel this will never happen. Thank you for this update as well as encouraging people that support Israel to get together in some way and try and help out. Why don’t the authors of this newsletter put out petitions that Christians around the world could sign and show their support. I know the Canadian tax Federation does this all the time and it is quite effective.
    Thanx for listening
    Ken. From Western Canada

  • God will settle His Land with His “am Segulah”….He is faithful to His Word. The Heartland will be once again fruitful with Jewish Settlers bringing it back to life!

  • I have always stood for truth and reading about this site..it stirred my curiosity to know what it is all about
    I know that most news about Israel are misleading , so I’m happy to have come across this site

  • Israel belongs to the Jews if the Arabs want they can go back to Jordan where they came from

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