Rosh Tzurim ( he, רֹאשׁ צוּרִים, eng. Top of the Rocks) is an Israeli settlement and religious kibbutz 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 ...

established in 1969. It is located about south of Jerusalem, 3.9 km east of the Green Line, inside barrier wall. A member of the

Religious Kibbutz Movement The Religious Kibbutz Movement ( he, הקיבוץ הדתי, ''HaKibbutz HaDati'') is an organizational framework for Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel. Its membership includes 22 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and 6 others in the cat ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of the

Gush Etzion Regional Council The Gush Etzion Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גוש עציון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gush Etzion'') is a regional council in the northern Judean Hills, the northern part of the southern area of the West Bank, administering the se ...

. In it had a population of . The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land 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 in order to construct Rosh Tzurim: 110 dunams from

Nahalin Nahalin, also spelled Nahaleen, ( ar, نحالين) is a Palestinian village located in the Bethlehem Governorate to the southwest of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The word ''nahaleen'' is Arabic for those who collect honey from bees. The village was ...

, and 780 dunams from

Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah (variants: Beit Iskâria, Khirbet Zakariah, Beit Skâria) is a small Palestinian village in the West Bank, perched on a hill that rises about above sea level. It is located in between the larger Israeli settlements of Al ...

. The settlement was established in 1969 by members of

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. History B ...

Religious Scouts and Nahal soldiers. The Name originates from the Biblical passage "For from the top of the mountains I see him" (Num 23:9) - just like the neighbouring village Gevaot. Rosh Tzurim is located on the site of the ancient Beth Zechariah and on a hilltop that had previously been occupied by

Ein Tzurim Ein Tzurim ( he, עֵין צוּרִים, ''lit.'' Rock Spring) is a religious kibbutz in southern Israel. Located south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council and is a member of the Religious Kibbutz Moveme ...

, a kibbutz that was destroyed in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War by the Jordanian

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

and later re-established in the Lakhish area. Rosh Tzurim went through a privatization process, first through the rental of available houses, and later an additional neighborhood, Nof Tzurim, was built on the kibbutz.

Economy

The kibbutz raises turkeys, produces milk and grows grapes for wine production along with other fruits.

References

{{Authority control Religious Kibbutz Movement Nahal settlements Populated places established in 1969 Religious Israeli settlements Gush Etzion Regional Council 1969 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate