Beit El
| Beit El | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Hebrew | בֵּית אֵל |
| • ISO 259 | Beit ʔel |
| • Also spelled | Bet El (official) |
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 Beit El
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| Coordinates: 31°55′48″N 35°13′12″E / 31.93°N 35.22°ECoordinates: 31°55′48″N 35°13′12″E / 31.93°N 35.22°E | |
| Region | West Bank |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,528 dunams (1.528 km2 or 378 acres) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 5,600 |
Beit El (Hebrew: בֵּית אֵל) is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a population of 5,308.[1] The head of the local council is Moshe Rosenbaum.[2] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3][4]
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[edit] History
In Biblical times, Bethel was the site where Jacob slept and dreamt of the angels coming up and down a ladder (Genesis 28:19).[5] Bethel has been identified with the ruins surrounding the Palestinian village of Beitin[6] and with hilltop site of Pisgat Ya'akov.
Beit El was established in 1977, ten years after the Six Day War. Several families moved into the Israel Defense Forces base and others settled on nearby hilltops. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. 1,200 families now reside in Beit El, most affiliated with the Religious Zionist Movement.
[edit] Legal status
The international community considers Israeli settlements a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory and are as such illegal under international humanitarian law.[7] Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[8][9]
Peace Now reports that private Palestinian property makes up 96.85% of the land that Beit El, along with the nearby Israeli outposts of Beit El East and Jabel Artis, is built on.[10]
[edit] Geography and climate
Beit El has a higher elevation than Jerusalem, and has cool nights in the summer and occasional snow in the winter. The Pisgat Ya'akov neighborhood has a hilltop observatory with a commanding view of the surrounding hills where one may view as far away as the Tel Aviv area and Mount Hermon on clear days.
Northeast of Beit El is the Ma'yanoth Qara' Nature Reserve, so named on account of its proximity to the nearby village of Dura al-Qara'. The nature reserve is the site of five natural springs whose source is a channel carved between overlying cliffs. The limestone formations at the springs are dated to the Cenomanian age. The nature reserve is noteworthy as a habitat for the Hedera helix ivy, not known to grow anywhere else between the region of Edom to the south and the Galilee to the north, as well as the Teucrium montbretii, which grows only in the vicinity of Ramallah.[11]
[edit] Demographics
The rabbis of the town are Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed who is also the rosh yeshiva of the local Beit El Yeshiva. Beit El has a large percentage of immigrants from other countries and is also home to a unique community of Bnei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram.[12]
[edit] Economy
The yeshiva owns and operates Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio which operates out of studios in Beit El and Petah Tikva. [13] Beit El also has a number of small factories, such as tefillin factory, a winery, metalworks, carpentry shops, a bakery and others.
[edit] House demolition
In November 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the state to explain within 30 days why it has ordered the demolition of ten buildings in Beit El. The attorney for Kiryat HaYeshiva Beit El company has presented documentation showing that the land on which the buildings stand was legally purchased from the previous Arab owner. The buildings are located on the lower heights of Pisgat Yaakov, also known as Jabal Artis, overlooking Beit El to the south and west.[14]
[edit] Notable residents
- Emuna Elon & her husband Binyamin Elon
- Member of the Knesset Yaakov "Ketzale" Katz
[edit] References
- ^ Israeli database
- ^ Israeli database
- ^ "Israeli Settlements and International Law". IMFA. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israeli+Settlements+and+International+Law.htm.
- ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Bethel" in M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, T. Nelson and Sons, London, 1894
- ^ Baker Tristram, Henry (1876). The Land of Israel. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 162. http://books.google.com/books?id=-2MBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA162&dq=Bethel+Beitin+ruins&hl=en&ei=5l6JTZ7oG87SgQfekYTYDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Bethel%20Beitin%20ruins&f=false.
- ^ The settlers' struggle BBC News. 19 December 2003
- ^ Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
- ^ Opinion of the International Court of Justice B'Tselem
- ^ Breaking the Law in the West Bank - One Violation Leads to Another: Israeli Settlement Building on Private Palestinian Property Peace Now. 2006 October.
- ^ Hareuveni, Imanuel (1985) (in Hebrew). קום התהלך בארץ: מדריך שמורות טבע בישראל [Nature Reserves in Israel] (2nd ed.). Israel: Israel Ministry of Defense. p. 319. ISBN 965-05-0193-2. "שם השמורה – לפי קרבתה לכפר דורא אל-קרע." "בשמורה: קבוצה בת חמישה מעיינות הנובעים בתחתית ערוץ מצוקי, והם (מצפ' לדר'): עין אל-ג'ורה (2 נביעות), עין א-שקיף, עין אל-מע'רה, עין אל-ג'בעה. המעיינות נובעים בתחתית הערוץ מתוך שכבות גיר מגיל הקנומן התחתון." "המדרגות, מעל הערוץ ומתחתיו, מהווֹת בית-גידול עיקרי לחורש הים-תיכוני, בו מצויים מספר מינים נדירים ובשפע רב על אף השטח הקטן), ובמיוחד מיני מטפסים, ביניהם: קיסוס החֹרש (פרט ממנו גדל כאן בר. צמח זה הוא הפרט היחיד המוכר לנו הגדל בין הגליל לבין אדום, שריד לתקופה קדומה גשומה יותר; כמה עשרות אלפי שנים) ופואנית-איטלקית. במצוקים צומחת געדת-הסלעים (מצויה רק באזור רמאללה)."
- ^ Bnei Menashe home page
- ^ Israel National News
- ^ Supreme Court to Government: Why Destroy Beit El Buildings
[edit] External links
- The Municipality of Bet El (Hebrew)
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