Amihai ( he, עַמִּיחַי) is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

organized as a communal settlement in the Shilo settlement bloc in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In it had a population of . The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, which the Israeli government disputes. There is a plan to expand Amihai both west and east, and to include the outpost of

Adei Ad Adei Ad ( he, עדי עד, , For ever and ever) is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. Located near Shvut Rachel and Qusra, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. A resident of Adei Ad says that the outpost incl ...

(currently illegal even under Israeli law) in its jurisdiction, thereby legalizing the outpost. This is a highly controversial plan, which according to both critics and advocates, will result in the effective severance of

's territorial contiguity, specifically between Central West Bank (

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

) and Northern West Bank (

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

, etc.). This would have the effect of undermining the prospects of the realization of the

Two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...

.“Settlement Report: November 15, 2018.” Foundation for Middle East Peace, November 15, 2018
https://fmep.org/resource/settlement-report-november-15-2018/.

History

Amihai is one of the few Israeli settlements to be founded in the 21st century. Authorization for Amihai was given by the Israeli government as a result of a deal with residents of

Amona Amona may refer to: Places * Amona, Goa, a village in Goa, India *Amona, Mateh Binyamin, an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank *Isla de Mona, known in the pre-Columbian era as Amona Other *"Amona", a song on the album ''Necessary Evil A ne ...

, who were evacuated from their homes following a 2014

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

ruling. Amona's residents asked to be moved to a hill near the Geulat Zion outpost, east of Shilo. Construction in Amihai began in June 2017. Temporary homes were installed in February 2018, and the first families moved in March 2018.

References

{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 2018