(JNS.org) Israeli Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) has said that the Israeli decision to declare 1,000 acres in the community of Gvaot, part of the Judean region of Gush Etzion, as state land is “an answer to terrorism.”  Before the escalation of this summer’s conflict between Israel and Hamas, Israeli teens Naftali Frenkel, Eyal Yifrach, and Gilad Shaer were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas near the area. However, the U.S. government issued a statement opposing the decision. “This announcement, like every other settlement announcement Israel makes… is counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians,” a US official told Reuters. Bennett said that Israel “will continue to build our land…Hamas murders and we build,” Bennett said, according to Israel Hayom.