Bereaved Sister Delivers Emotional Speech at Reestablishment of Ganim Settlement in West Bank

Elena Keshet, whose sister Keti Vinterov was murdered in a 2001 terror attack near their home in the Ganim settlement, spoke at the national return ceremony to Ganim in northern Samaria. Vinterov was killed in a shooting attack on the bypass road near Jenin while returning home with her three-year-old son Ariel, who survived. Four years later, the family was uprooted during Israel's disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria.

Keshet emotionally addressed the families returning to Ganim, describing the hills as her true home and recalling the heavy price paid. She shared a poignant memory of Keti and her late husband Alex hiring a worker from Jenin to build a pergola, who told them the structure would one day belong to him after they were gone. Keshet declared this belief a "bitter historical mistake," emphasizing that while walls can be destroyed, the Zionist spirit, love for the land, and memory of those who sacrificed their lives cannot be uprooted.

She expressed deep emotion seeing new families restore life and light to the hills, saying, "My heart skips a beat." Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan praised Keshet as an inspiration and vowed to build a large, strong settlement, affirming that Keti's spirit will prevail. The return ceremony took place exactly 21 years after the original evacuation during the disengagement. Thirty families have reestablished Ganim, including a branch of the "Bnei David" yeshiva from Eli. Hundreds attended, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, Communications Minister Dr. Shlomo Karhi, MK Yuli Edelstein, rabbis, and families from Ganim and the settlement core group.