Gush Etzion Junction

Gush Etzion Junction ("Tzomet HaGush") also known as Gush Junction is a 120-dunam (0.12 km2; 0.046 sq mi) business, commercial and tourism center in the southern West Bank, which serves as the entry point to the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

Long known as a "congenial meeting spot for Israelis and Palestinians," in the fall of 2015 the junction was the site of about ten Palestinian attacks against Israelis.[1][2]

Geography

Gush Etzion Junction is located in the northern Judean Hills at about 950 m above sea level. The junction is a 25-meter (82 ft) diameter roundabout (traffic circle) 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[3] and approximately 70 minutes' drive to Tel Aviv.

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.[4][5]

On the southwest are a gas station,[6] an automotive repair shop, an electronics store, a Judaica center[3] and a Rami Levy discount supermarket.[7] 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.[1]

As of 2007, Rami Levi had begun construction of a two-story shopping mall as an extension to the south side of the supermarket and above it.[8]

A visitors' center is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the west in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion[6] as is the mehadrin dairy/fish restaurant, Gavna.[9]

Terrorist attacks

The hitchhiking post at the junction has frequently been the site of attacks by Palestinians against Israeli citizens, many of which were foiled by alert Israelis.[2]

Foiled and failed attacks
  • March 2006: A Palestinian man who arouses suspicion at the hitchhikers' post is found to be armed with a knife and arrested.[10]
  • November 2010: A Palestinian man attempts to stab Israeli civilians at the junction and is arrested by the IDF.[11]
  • January 2011: Shots are fired in the area; there are no injuries.[12]
  • 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.[13]
  • 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.[14][15]

Attacks
  • October 2005: Three killed, three injured in a shooting attack at the junction.[16][17]
  • January 2006: A Palestinian man stabs an Israeli man and girl; the attacker is shot and injured by an off-duty police officer.[17]
  • December 2009: A woman is stabbed in the back by a Palestinian man.[2][18]
  • 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.[19][1] In response, the government is planning bypass roads to separate Israeli vehicles from Palestinian vehicles at this junction.[20]
  • 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.[21]
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References
  1. Kershner, Isabel (14 December 2015). "West Bank Shopping Complex, a Symbol of Coexistence, Is Shaken". New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. Ben Gedalyahu, Tzvi (13 December 2009). "Arab Terrorist Stabs Jewish Woman at Gush Etzion". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  3. Abelow, Peter (Winter 1999). "Gush Eztion" (PDF). Jewish Action. OU.
  4. "Gush Etzion Wineries". Gush Etzion. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. "Welcome to Gush Etzion Winery's restaurant". Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  6. Bar-Am, Aviva (17 September 2010). "Take a Tour of Gush Etzion". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. Rebacz, Mark (16 July 2010). "Cornering the Supermarket?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  8. Fendel, Hillel (21 July 2010). "Gush Etzion Foresees 50 Percent Growth Rate". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. HaLevi, Ezra (15 September 2006). "Photo Feature: Hilltop Restaurant Bridges Shades of Old and New". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  10. Katz, Yaakov (19 March 2006). "IDF thwarts stabbing at Gush Etzion Junction". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  11. "Palestinian attempts to stab Israeli civilians at Gush Etzion junction". Israel Defence Forces. 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  12. "Gush Etzion: Shots fired, IDF combing area". Ynetnews. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  13. "IDF soldier stabbed in fourth attack of the day". Ynetnews. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  14. "Ramming Attack Foiled at Gush Etzion Junction". Jewish Press. March 15, 2016.
  15. Gross, Judah Ari (15 March 2017). "Female assailant shot during suspected car-ramming attempt". Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  16. "3 Killed, 4 Wounded in Shooting Attacks". Haaretz. One Family Fund. 17 October 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  17. Lis, Jonathan (3 January 2006). "2 Stabbed at Gush Etzion junction". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  18. Weiss, Efrat (13 December 2009). "Stabbing attack: in Gush Etzion, 1 injured". Ynetnews. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  19. "Hadar Buchris, 21, murdered at Etzion junction, to be laid to rest". Timesofisrael. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  20. Rudoren, Jody (23 November 2015). "Benjamin Netanyahu Plans Separate Bypass Roads for Israelis in Parts of West Bank". New York Times. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  21. Schwartz, Felicia (16 September 2018). "Israeli-American Fatally Stabbed in the West Bank". WSJ. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

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