Kfar Etzion

Kfar Etzion (Hebrew: כְּפַר עֶצְיוֹן, lit. Etzion Village) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, organized as a religious kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, that has been through cycles of creation, destruction and re-creation. It is located 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) east of the Green Line and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. In 2024, Kfar Etzion had a population of 1,209. Originally established as Migdal Eder in 1927 on land acquired by a group of Orthodox Jews from Jerusalem, it was depopulated and destroyed during the 1929 Palestine riots. Re-established in 1943, the Kfar Etzion massacre saw it depopulated and razed to the ground by Arab forces in 1948. It was re-established again in 1967 after the Six-Day War. The majority of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.