The Quality-of-Life Settlers

House prices in the center of the country are resulting in more Israelis moving to the West Bank

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“We’ve made it to Texas,” the reporter says, standing with a couple looking out over the desert. “Horses, desert.” But also houses. They are in Kfar Eldad, a settlement southeast of Jerusalem, talking about property prices. The couple bought an unbuilt apartment here three years ago that will soon be completed. “Here, in the desert?” the reporter asks incredulously. Today it’s worth NIS2,150,000.

When discussing settlements people often think in terms of security or ideology, while neglecting those who move to the West Bank to improve their quality of life. For them, as the reporter says, “ideology is a secondary consideration.” Explaining his decision further, the man says: “15 or 20 years ago, people bought here for peanuts, and everyone said they were crazy. And now a plot here is worth NIS1,600,000.”

Kfar Eldad (named after the Israeli philosopher and Lehi member Israel Eldad) was founded in 1982 close to Herodium and has religious and secular inhabitants. Administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, this small area of settlements (which also includes Avigdor Lieberman’s home of Nokdim, Tekoa, and the illegal outpost of Ma’ale Rekhav’am) is sometimes referred to as ‘East Gush Etzion,’ a strange formulation to disguise the fact that it is separated from the real Gush Etzion by Bethlehem. A sparsely populated area with a few Bedouin communities in the vicinity, it sits at the edge of the Judean Desert.

Next, the reporter travels to Peduel, in the central West Bank, founded in 1984 and described as “Israel’s lookout” by Ariel Sharon. From here you can see all the way from Caesarea to Ashdod, including Ben-Gurion Airport. If in Kfar Eldad you might wonder why a place would be so coveted, here the strategic importance – particularly after October 7 – is undeniable.