Netzah Yehuda Battalion

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Netzah Yehuda
Warrior Pin of all Nahal Haredi Combat Soldiers
Active	1999 - Present
Country	Israel
Type	Infantry
Size	Battalion
Part of	a) Jordan Vallery Territorial Brigade, West Bank Territorial Division (Operational) b) Kfir Infantry Brigade, 16nd Armored Division (Structural)
Nickname	Nahal Haredi (more commonly used)
Motto	"V'Haya Machanecha Kadosh", "And Your Military camp is Holy"
Commanders
Current commander	Itzik Guy

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion Hebrew: גדוד נצח יהודה ‎ (also known as Nahal Haredi נחל החרדי) is a battalion in the Kfir Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The purpose of the unit is to allow religious Israelis to serve in the IDF in an atmosphere conducive to their religious convictions. The battalion's main action area is the Jordan valley.

The battalion was founded in 1999, and originally contained only 30 soldiers. As of 2006, the battalion had grown to over 1000 soldiers, and appears to rapidly be reaching the threshold of a fully functioning brigade. The battalion recently marked its 20th draft.

As the battalion runs on a voluntary basis and does not draft soldiers, it is one of the only units in the IDF which depends on a recruitment mechanism in order to source new troops.

The battalion runs like any other combat unit in the IDF, albeit with a far greater focus on the spiritual welfare of the soldiers. Thus, training in the battalion is identical to the rest of the IDF, with soldiers going through four months of basic training followed by an additional two months of advanced training. The Netzah Yehuda bases are known to follow the highest standards of Jewish dietary laws and the only women permitted on these bases are wives of soldiers and officers in the battalion (under special circumstances).

The Netzah Yehuda battalion serves mainly in and around the Jordan Valley cities of Tubas, Tammun, Pharah Refugee Camp, Ein Bidden, Akaba, and Jiftlik. The unit is also responsible for all military operations in the Arab controlled city of Jericho.

Today, at any given time, the battalion holds close to 1000 soldiers, including 2 full companies in training, 1 company in beginning of active service, and 2 Advanced Units - Palchod (Recon Unit) and Rova'it (Riflemans Company). There is also a small special forces platoon (Machsar) composed of soldiers from the battalion.

The battalion lost its first casualty on August 19, 2006 when a Palestinian gunman from the city of Tammun shot from close range, and killed, Staff Sergeant Roe Farjune at the Bekaot Checkpoint east of Nablus. Nearby Netzah Yehuda soldiers killed the gunman shortly after.

Soldiers of the battalions Advanced Recon Company's (Palchod) Sniper Platoon (Machleket Tzalafim) prepare for a night-time operation into the West Bank Arab city of Tubas.

The battalions motto is "V'haya Machanecha Kadosh", which in English means "And Your [military] camp is holy", a phrase taken from the Hebrew Bible describing the importance of keeping a Jewish military camp free of sin (in exchange for Divine assistance in battle).

Netzah Yehuda's official battalion number is 97.