Bennett Says Etzion Bloc to Be Under Israeli Sovereignty 'By Graduation Time'

by Yona Schnitzer

Gush Etzion will be under Israeli sovereignty within a few years, according to Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

The minister made the remark Monday at the opening of a new elementary school in the Jewish community of Neve Daniel, located across the road from Efrat, about eight minutes south of Jerusalem, in the Etzion bloc.

"By the time you graduate," Bennett told students, "the Etzion bloc will be under full Israeli sovereignty.

"Gush Etzion will be an inseparable part of Israel,” he said. “During your time in school, you are setting the foundation of the spirit of the school that will continue on to your children.”