Neve Daniel
| Neve Daniel | |
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 Neve Daniel
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| Coordinates: 31°40′37″N 35°08′37″E / 31.67694°N 35.14361°ECoordinates: 31°40′37″N 35°08′37″E / 31.67694°N 35.14361°E | |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Council | Gush Etzion |
| Region | West Bank |
| Founded | 18 July 1982 |
| Population (2015) | 2,275 |
Neve Daniel (Hebrew: נְוֵה דָּנִיֵּאל) is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in western Gush Etzion 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. In 2015 it had a population of 2,275.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
Neve Daniel was established on 18 July 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 al-Khader 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 an-Nabi Daniel, Arabic for Prophet Daniel, a site at a bend in the road several kilometers southwest of Bethlehem where a convoy bringing supplies to Gush Etzion was ambushed. The loss of the "Nabi Daniel Convoy" became a turning point in the fight for Gush Etzion. The road to Gush Etzion had been blocked by Arab villagers who organized attacks on vehicles traveling to and from Jerusalem. The convoys traversing the route consisted mainly of so-called "sandwich trucks", improvised armored vehicles reinforced with two sheets of steel welded onto the cabin and cargo area and a layer of wood placed in between. On 27 March 1948, a convoy of 51 vehicles returning from Gush Etzion encountered an impassable roadblock and came to a halt. The Arabs positioned on both sides of the road opened fire. According to Irgun fighter Yehuda Lapidot, during the battle, 15 Jewish fighters were killed, 73 wounded, and most of the Haganah's fleet of armored transport vehicles, 10 armored cars, 4 armored buses and 25 armor-plated trucks, were destroyed. An alternative theory is that the community was named by the leader of another convoy destroyed while attempting at resupplying Gush Etzion in 1948, Daniel "Dani" Mass of the Convoy of 35.
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