New Settlement 'Ma'aleh Arugot' Inaugurated in Gush Etzion

A new settlement, Ma'aleh Arugot, was officially inaugurated in the Gush Etzion region on Wednesday evening. The establishment of this settlement is intended to strengthen Israeli control in the area and create a significant settlement connection between the western and eastern parts of Gush Etzion.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by a number of prominent Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Minister Ze'ev Elkin, Minister of Diaspora Affairs and the Fight Against Antisemitism Amichai Chikli, and several Knesset members. The head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Yaron Rosenthal, and representatives from the settlement administration were also present.

Finance Minister Smotrich stated that the establishment of Ma'aleh Arugot is a crucial step in the settlement expansion efforts in Judea and Samaria over the past four years, aiming to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state. He emphasized that this settlement, along with others and thousands of housing units approved in Gush Etzion, will significantly alter the region's landscape for generations.

Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal highlighted the settlement's strategic importance in connecting western and eastern Gush Etzion, thereby preventing a Palestinian territorial contiguity from the Bethlehem area towards Hebron. He likened its strategic impact to that of the E1 plan near Jerusalem, asserting that Ma'aleh Arugot reinforces settlement continuity in Gush Etzion and obstructs plans for a Palestinian state in the heart of the region.