Sde Boaz ( he, שדה בועז, , Boaz's Field) 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 hill above

Neve Daniel Neve Daniel ( he, נְוֵה דָּנִיֵּאל) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in western Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem and just west of Bethlehem, it sits atop one of the highest points in the area - close to 1,000 meter ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

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 ...

. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

The settlement was established in 2002 by Hananel Shear-Yashuv, who claimed the land by moving a shipping container to the top of the hill and moving into it. It is named after

Boaz Boaz (; Hebrew: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in J ...

from the Book of Ruth. In its charter, Sde Boaz proclaims its desire to live in peace with its Arab neighbors and eschew violence. It is an environmentally friendly agricultural community that accepts both religious and non-religious Jews. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called outposts like Sde Boaz a "disgrace." On taking office in 2006, Olmert began the destruction of illegal outposts in order to comply with the terms of the

Road map for peace The Roadmap for peace or road map for peace ( he, מפת הדרכים ''Mapa had'rakhim'', ''Khāriṭa ṭarīq as-salāmu'') was a plan to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict proposed by the Quartet on the Middle East: the United Stat ...

and by 2008 had agreed to dismantle Sde Boaz among these. In 2006 Sde Boaz was the site of a massive protest against the court-ordered

Israeli Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

(IDF) destruction of illegal Israeli construction. The IDF managed to destroy a small house and a stable as the court had ordered, but hundreds of Israeli protesters prevented the soldiers from destroying the foundation of a house under construction. By 2008, some residents of Sde Boaz were being trained by

Mishmeret Yesha Mishmeret Yesha ( he, משמרת יש"ע) is an Israeli organization that trains Israeli settlers in counterterrorism techniques and the use of weapons to guard Israeli outposts and settlements against Palestinian attack. It was founded in 1988 a ...

, a non-profit organization that teaches settlers counterterrorism techniques and the use of guns so that they can form "rapid response teams." The IDF supplies settlers who've received the training with

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-ro ...

s and ammunition.

Demographics

Most of the residents are professionals who commute to work. Apart from communal agriculture projects, some families engage in private

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

, raising chickpeas, cauliflower, tomatoes, watermelons, lettuce, grapes, mulberries and olives. Experimental crops include tomatillos, North American pumpkins and sweet peas.

References

{{Gush Etzion Regional Council Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 2002 Gush Etzion Regional Council Israeli outposts Unauthorized Israeli settlements