Shavei Shomron ( he, שָׁבֵי שׁוֹמְרוֹן, ''lit.'' Returnees of Samaria) is an
Israeli settlement 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 ...
. Built on lands confiscated from the neighboring
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 of
An-Naqura
An-Naqura ( ar, الناقوره, also spelled al-Nakura) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 10 kilometers northwest of Nablus and adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Shavei Shomron. According t ...
and
Deir Sharaf
Deir Sharaf ( ar, دير شرف) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,759 inhabitants ...
,
it is located to the west of
Nablus, on the road to
Tulkarm
Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities o ...
. It is organised as a
community settlement
A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...
and falls under the jurisdiction of
Shomron Regional Council
The Shomron Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית שומרון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Shomron'', English ''Samaria Regional Council'') is an Israeli regional council in the northern portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Thirty-five Isra ...
. In it had a population of , mostly
religious Zionist
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...
and
Modern Orthodox Jews
Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world.
Modern Orthodoxy draws on seve ...
. Its municipal jurisdiction is 664
dunams, of which 272 dunams are built up.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank
illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
In late 1976, supporters of the
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim ( he, גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים , ''Bloc of the Faithful'') was an Israeli ultranationalist Orthodox Jewish right-wing activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Gol ...
(Bloc of the Faithful) staged a takeover of the abandoned
Sebastia railroad station, located outside an Arab village of the same name. The location is in proximity to the ruins of
Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
, the capital city of the northern
Kingdom of Israel, built by King
Omri
Omri ( ; he, , ''‘Omrī''; akk, 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 ''Ḫûmrî'' 'ḫu-um-ri-i'' fl. 9th century BC) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of ...
. Using this as justification to secure the Israeli claim to the region, the demonstrators demanded that settlement be initiated in this region. With the support of newly elected
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Menachem Begin, a residential community was built the following year alongside a military base at a strategically valuable crossroads by residents of nearby
Netanya, and with the assistance of the
Amana settlement organisation.
According to
ARIJ,
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 ...
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 Shavei Shomron: 680
dunums
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
of land were taken from
An-Naqura
An-Naqura ( ar, الناقوره, also spelled al-Nakura) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 10 kilometers northwest of Nablus and adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Shavei Shomron. According t ...
,
[An Naqura Village profile](_blank)
ARIJ, p. 15 while 236 dunums were taken from
Deir Sharaf
Deir Sharaf ( ar, دير شرف) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,759 inhabitants ...
.
[Deir Sharaf village profile](_blank)
ARIJ, pp. 15-16
On 11 October 2022, an
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen in the settlement. The Palestinian group the
Lions' Den claimed responsibility.
Intifada and disengagement
Like all Israeli settlers, the residents of Shavei Shomron traveled through and conducted business in Nablus and neighboring Arab villages. However, as tensions increased following the
First Intifada, Israeli travel to Nablus was restricted, and new roads were built to bypass certain villages. Twenty-four hundred dunums were confiscated from Palestinian villages to build a bypass road from Shavei Shomron to the Mt. Ibal military installation.
[
] In 2002, 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 ...
approved the construction of part of the
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 ...
around the community. Many local residents opposed its construction, fearing that it may become a future border between Israel and a
Palestinian state
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...
. Others were concerned that an incident like the one earlier in the year, when a terrorist infiltrated the community and targeted the kindergarten with grenades and firearms before being shot by a local resident, could be repeated without such measures.
In August 2005, the community hosted mass demonstrations in opposition to the
Israeli disengagement from Gaza
The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip.
T ...
, which included the forced evacuation of four settlements to the north of Shavei Shomron, and brought a potential frontier to the settlement's backyard. Following their evacuation and demolition, the community hosted some of the former residents of
Homesh
Homesh ( he, חֹמֶשׁ, חומש) was an Israeli settlement in the West Bank along Route 60, illegally built over private Palestinian land. The settlement was under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. In 2005, t ...
and
Sa-Nur
Sa-Nur ( he, שָׂא נוּר, ''lit.'' Flame Carrier) was an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank under the administrative jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council until 2005. Prior to its demolition, Sa-Nur was home to 43 families. .
As of 2008, residents of Shavei Shomron 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 ...
in counterterrorism tactics and the use of guns.
Demographics
The community has a swimming pool and
ulpan
An ulpan ( he, אולפן), plural ''ulpanim'', is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning "studio", "teaching", or "instruction".
The ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the b ...
(Hebrew classes) for newcomers which serve to attract a population including many ''
olim
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...
'' (Jewish immigrants) from English-speaking countries as well as Russian Jews from the
former USSR
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
,
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Is ...
,
Bnei Menashe
The Bnei Menashe ( he, בני מנשה, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes o ...
, and some
Incan Jewish families from
Trujillo, Peru
, population_note =
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 13001
, area_code = 044
, website Municipality of Trujillo, footnotes ...
that
converted to Orthodox Judaism.
References
External links
Shavey-shomron / Official website
{{Shomron Regional Council
Religious Israeli settlements
Populated places established in 1977
1977 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate
Israeli settlements in the West Bank