Otniel (Hebrew: עָתְנִיאֵל) is a Jewish Orthodox Israeli settlement in the southern Judean hills, south of Hebron in the West Bank. It is under the jurisdiction of the Har Hebron Regional Council. Approximately 110 families live in Otniel. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[1]
[edit] History
Otniel, established in 1983, was named for the first biblical judge Othniel Ben Kenaz.[2] Otniel is south of Beit Hagai and north of Shim'a and the Palestinian village of Samu'a. Yeshivat Otniel, a hesder yeshiva, is jointly headed by Rabbi Binyamin Kalmanzon and Rabbi Re'em HaCohen. The yeshiva also has an overseas program that attracts students from Australia and the United States.
[edit] Arab-Israeli conflict
In December 2002, four students were killed and ten were wounded in a terrorist attack on the yeshiva.[3][4][5] In November 2011, an Otniel resident, Rabbi Dan Martzbach, was killed, and two women were wounded, when an Israel Defense Forces patrol, on alert for suspected terrorists, fired on their car as they drove to the Cave of the Patriarchs to pray in the early hours of the morning.[6]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
