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Neve Daniel (Template:Lang-he-n) is a village and communal Israeli settlement located in western Gush Etzion in the southern West Bank. Located south of Jerusalem and just west of Bethlehem, it sits atop one of the highest points in the area - close to 1,000 meters above sea level, and has a view of much of the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as the mountains of Jordan.

History

Neve Daniel was established on July 18, 1982 on the site of the Cohen Farm. The Cohen Farm was founded on September 6, 1935, on lands purchased from the nearby village of el-Khadr that were transferred to the Jewish National Fund in 1943. The farm was abandoned during the Arab riots, and remained under Jordanian control until 1967.

The new community was named for Nebi Daniel, a bend in the road near Neve Daniel where 15 members of the Haganah were killed in March 1948, in an ambush on the Gush Etzion Convoy. The convoy of 51 vehicles reached Gush Etzion, but it was attacked by Arabs on the way back to Jerusalem. During the 30-hour battle on the road, fifteen Jews were killed, including the commander of the convoy, Zerubavel Horowitz. The attack also left 73 wounded, and the Haganah's fleet of armored transport vehicles was nearly decimated. Ten armored cars, 4 armored buses and 25 armor-plated trucks were destroyed.

On a visit to Neve Daniel in 2009, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter told his hosts: "I have been fortunate this afternoon in learning the perspectives that I did not have." At a meeting in the garden of Shaul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion regional council, Carter said: "This particular settlement area is not one that I can envision ever being abandoned or changed over into Palestinian territory. This is part of settlements close to the 1967 line that I think will be here forever."

Demography

Neve Daniel has a mixed population of native Israelis and olim from the former Soviet Union, France, and the United States. The population doubled from 800 residents in 2001 to nearly 1,500 in 2008. The majority of residents are religious Zionists. Only those who are Shomer Shabbat are permitted to become property owners.

References

1. A History of Gush Etzion
2. Debacle at Nebi Daniel
3. Carter's visit to Neve Daniel
4. Carter talks Mideast peace

31°40′40″N 35°08′36″E / 31.67789°N 35.14329°E / 31.67789; 35.14329

• Settlements established in 1982
• Communal cities, towns and villages in Israel
• Israeli settlements