Tekoa

View of Tekoa with the Herodium in the background

Tekoa ( Hebrew תקוע) is a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 , with a population of 3,633 (2016).

location

Tekoa is located in the Gush Etzion region in the Judean Hills , approx. 20 km south of Jerusalem and approx. 10 km south of Bethlehem . The place is at an altitude of 670 m above sea level. d. mean sea level on a ridge surrounded on three sides by the Tekoa Gorge.

South of the Jewish settlement of Tekoa is the Arab-Palestinian village of the same name ( Arabic تقوع Tuqu ' ) with 8,881 inhabitants (2007).

The nearby ruins have been identified as the Judean city of Tekoa ( 2 Chr 11.6 EU ), which is mentioned several times in the Bible and fortified by King Rechaboam , and which is also the place of origin of the prophet Amos ( Am 1.1 EU ).

history

The settlement was founded in 1977.

On September 20, 2001, a car was shot at from a passing truck near Tekoa. An Israeli woman was shot dead, her husband seriously injured, and the three children in the back seats were unharmed.

Outpost

Tekoa B and C, founded in 2001, is located 500 meters south of the Tekoa settlement. In 2006 it consisted of 44 caravans and 15 houses and had 120 residents.
Tekoa D, founded in 2002, is located 1.8 km southeast of the Tekoa settlement and 700 meters south of the Nokdim settlement . In 2006 it consisted of 23 residential units and had 50 residents.
Tekoa E, founded in 2014, is located 2.5 km southeast of the settlement of Tekoa. The outpost was abandoned a few weeks after it was founded, but rebuilt in February 2019.