(center) MK Nava Boker and Gush Etzion Regional Council head David Perl
(center) MK Nava Boker and Gush Etzion Regional Council head David PerlPR photo

Nava Boker, one of the Likud's new MKs, made her political agenda clear Sunday – which includes the annexation of Gush Etzion – the Etzion Bloc south of Jerusalem – as a top priority.

Boker visited the region Sunday, taking in the historic Herodion site, where Rome's Herod constructed a summer palace, as well as the Oz VeGaon outpost, which was established in memory of the three teens murdered in Gush Etzion last year. The murder of the teens – Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha'ar – was a trigger of last summer's Operation Protective Edge.

Two thousand plus years after it was built, Herodion still impresses, and among the things Boker was most impressed by was the extensive infrastructure work that was done on the mountain to enable Herod and his entourage to live their accustomed luxurious life while they vacationed. She also examined a more modern infrastructure project, the road that was recently paved between Har Homa and Teko'a in eastern Gush Etzion.

At Oz Vegaon, Boker was told about the educational and cultural activities that are held there weekly, and witnessed the dedication of youths who set up the site and maintain it on a regular basis. She also visited the forested areas of Gush Etzion, and heard about how officials were maintaining the forest, and especially how they battled attempts by Arabs to burn the forest down.

Boker's husband, Brig.-Gen. Lior Boker, a police officer, was among the 44 police and firefighters killed in the Carmel Forest fire in 2010.

Nava Boker also visited several schools in the area, meeting with school officials, teachers, and students to get an impression of how classes are taught. In addition, she met with ambulance, fire, and other rescue officials.

Boker said she would be back to see more sights – but that meanwhile, she was planning on advancing legislation to annex the region to Israel. Gush Etzion Regional head Davidi Perl thanked Boker for the visit and her support, saying that her visit showed “a strong connection to the land and its people.”