Mitzpe Kramim ( he, מצפה כרמים, lit. ''

Vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s Lookout'') is an

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost ( he, מאחז, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israe ...

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 ...

. Located on a mountain ridge overlooking the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of the

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה בנימין, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a regional council governing 46 Israeli settlements and outposts in th ...

. It is built, as ruled by the

Israeli Supreme Court ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...

on 25 August, 2020, on private lands owned by residents of 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 Deir Jarir.Israel's top court rules for removal of settler homes from Palestinian land
Reuters via Yahoo News, published & accessed on 27 August 2020. The international community considers ''any'' Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

Mitzpe Keramim was established in 1999 on the

Israeli Independence Day Independence Day ( he, יום העצמאות ''Yom Ha'atzmaut'', lit. "Day of Independence") is the national day of Israel, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies ...

near the Israeli settlement of Kokhav HaShahar. Several second-generation families from Kokhav HaShahar left their homes and moved to a hill south of the village. Less than a year later, after an agreement with the

Barak Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephrai ...

government, the group was relocated to a hilltop closer to Kokhav HaShahar. However, only a few months later, a new village, Ma'ale Shlomo, was established on the original site. In 2011, a group of Palestinians from the village of Deir Jarir claiming ownership over the land on which the outpost sits, submitted a petition to the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

to have the community of some 40 families removed. A

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

District Court judge ruled in 2018 that the settlement doesn't need to be razed because it was built "in good faith" and the residents have rights to the property. The decision was based on a policy known as "market regulation" that is used in Israeli Law whenever authorities grant building rights to unowned land and only after the building is up and residents live there, a claim is made on the land that was not known at the time of authorization. A Supreme Court ruling from August 2020 overturned this decision but in July 2022 reversed its own decision and accepted the state's argument. According to the hebrew web site of the Local Regional Council, as of July 2022 42 families live in Mitzpe Kramim. According to the Palestinian

Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ar, معهد الابحاث التطبيقية - القدس) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research proje ...

(ARIJ), Israeli settlers "forcefully seized" land from the

villages of Deir Jarir and Kafr Malik Kafr Malik Village Profile
ARIJ, p. 20 in order to build Mitzpe Kramim.

References

External links

official site
{{coord, 31.9576, N, 35.3569, E, source:wikidata, display=title Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 1999 Mateh Binyamin Regional Council 1999 establishments in the Palestinian territories he:מאחזים#מצפה כרמים Israeli outposts Unauthorized Israeli settlements