Beit Aryeh-Ofarim ( he, בֵּית אַרְיֵה-עֳפָרִים) is an
Israeli settlement and
local council in the northern
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 ...
. It is located north of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and east of Tel Aviv, near the
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village of
al-Lubban al-Gharbi, 3.8 km kilometers east of the
Green line. It is situated on the Palestinian side of the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
, on 8,500 dunams of land. In it had a population of .
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered
illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
Established in 1981, Beit Aryeh was recognised as a local council in 1989. In 2004, it merged with Ofarim. Beit Aryeh was named for former
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
member
Aryeh Ben-Eliezer
Aryeh Ben-Eliezer ( he, אריה בן אליעזר, 16 December 1913 – 29 January 1970) was a Revisionist Zionist leader, Irgun member and Israeli politician.
Biography
Aryeh Ben-Eliezer (born Lipa Zabrowsky) was born in Vilnius in the R ...
, a prominent
Revisionist Zionist
Revisionist Zionism is an ideology developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who advocated a "revision" of the " practical Zionism" of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann which was focused on the settling of ''Eretz Yisrael'' ( Land of Israel) by independe ...
leader who was amongst the founders of
Herut.
According to
ARIJ, the land for Beit Aryeh-Ofarim was confiscated by
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
from two nearby
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
villages:
Aboud
Aboud ( ar, عابود, ''ʿĀbūd'') is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the central West Bank, northwest of Ramallah and 30 kilometers north of Jerusalem. Nearby towns include al-Lu ...
and
Al-Lubban al-Gharbi.
In 2011, the Israeli Ministry of Defense signed an agreement with the municipality of Beit Aryeh approving the construction of 100 homes and a bypass road between Beit Aryeh and Ofarim.
In 2020, Beit Aryeh-Ofarim was one of several Israeli settlements that dumped its untreated sewage onto lands of the nearby
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village of
Deir Ballut
Deir Ballut ( ar, دير بلّوط) is a Palestinian town located in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, south west of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of 3,195 in 2007.
In 1870 ...
.
'Paradise lost': How Israel turned the West Bank into a sewage dump for its settlements
By Shatha Hammad, 21 October 2020, Middle East Eye
Notable residents
* Doron Matalon
* Aleks Tarn
* Neil Druckmann
References
External links
Local council website
Local councils in Israel
Israeli settlements in the West Bank
1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate
Populated places established in 1981
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