Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, attended the inauguration of the new "HaTayelet" neighborhood in Migdal Oz, in Gush Etzion, on Thursday. They took part in the ceremony with Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal, as the neighborhood is part of a wider expansion that is expected to double the settlement's size over the coming year.
During the event, Netanyahu and his wife planted a tree with Noam Leiter, the son of Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who lives in Gvaot in Gush Etzion, and with Ofri Nir, the daughter of Yuval Nir, who was killed in the war. Netanyahu said he and his wife were moved to be present with the residents and the bereaved families, saying the gathering reflected "the strength of life and the spirit of life" in the Jewish people.
He also framed the visit as part of a historical return to the area, saying Israelis were expelled from the site before the state was established, then returned, built there, and continue building. Referring to the tree planting, he said he once saw it as symbolic, but after revisiting similar sites over the years, he understood its meaning, noting that trees he had planted had since grown large.
Netanyahu said Migdal Oz was undergoing major growth, claiming the kibbutz had "doubled itself, doubled itself twice in a year," and described the expansion as part of a sacred mission to hold on to the land despite enemies and pressure, secure the Jewish past, and ensure the future. He closed by thanking the residents and jokingly invited them to celebrate the tree's bar mitzvah.
