Mateh Binyamin Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה בנימין, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the

Tribe of Benjamin According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin () was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. In the Samaritan Pentate ...

) is a

regional council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fran ...

governing 46

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s and outposts in the West Bank. The council's jurisdiction is from the Jordan valley in the east to the Samarian foothills in the west, and from the

Shiloh river Shiloh, Shilo, or Silo (Help:IPA/English, /ˈʃaɪloʊ/; Hebrew: שִׁלוֹ ,שִׁילֹה ,שִׁלֹה, and שִׁילוֹ variably) is mainly known as the name of Shiloh (biblical city), the biblical city which preceded Jerusalem as the centra ...

in the north to the Jerusalem Mountains in the south. The

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

of the council is Psagot. The council is named for the ancient Israelite

tribe of Benjamin According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin () was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. In the Samaritan Pentate ...

, whose territory roughly corresponds to that of the council. The region in which the Binyamin settlements are located is referred to as the Binyamin Region. The

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

considers Israeli settlements to be illegal, but the state of Israel disputes this, and this applies to all communities under the administration of Mateh Binyamin. In November 2007, Avi Roeh was elected head of the council. The previous head, Pinchas Wallerstein, stepped down after being in the position for 28 years. In October 2018, Israel Gantz was elected head of the council.

Economy and employment

There are two industrial areas, Sha'ar Binyamin Industrial zone and Shiloh Industrial Zone, and a great amount of agriculture fields.

History and sites

The first capital of the Israeli kingdom was established in Shiloh, were the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

rested. The region blossomed in the Israeli kingdom, and many Jewish settlements and towns were established here. Ruins can be found today at the foundations of some of the Arab villages in the area.

List of settlements

This regional council provides various municipal services for the 46 settlements within its territory: * Ahia *

Adei Ad Adei Ad ( he, עדי עד, , For ever and ever) is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. Located near Shvut Rachel and Qusra, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. A resident of Adei Ad says that the outpost incl ...

* Almon (Anatot) * Alon *

Amichai Amihai ( he, עַמִּיחַי) is an Israeli settlement organized as a communal settlement in the Shilo settlement bloc in the West Bank. In it had a population of . The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West ...

* Ateret *

Beit Horon Beit Horon ( he, בֵּית חוֹרוֹן) is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Bordering Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem, the biblical pass of Beit Horon (Joshua 10:10), after which it is named, it falls under the juri ...

Dolev Dolev ( he, דולב, דֹּלֶב) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located north-west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

* Eli *

Esh Kodesh Esh Kodesh (, lit. ''Sacred Fire'') is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank near Shilo. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Israeli outposts in the West Bank are considered illegal both under international law ...

Ganei Modi'in Ganei Modi'in ( he, גני מודיעין, , Modi'in Gardens) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located just over the Green Line to the north of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Counc ...

* Geva Binyamin (Adam) * Giv'at Har'el * Giv'on HaHadasha * Harasha * Hashmonaim * Keeda *

Kfar Adumim Kfar Adumim ( he, כְּפַר אֲדֻמִּים. ''lit.'' Village of The Red) is a mixed religious-secular Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is located in the Judean Desert, on the southern bank of Wadi Qelt, about 2 miles northeast of th ...

* Kfar HaOranim (Menora/Giv'at Ehud) * Kokhav HaShahar *

Kokhav Ya'akov Kokhav Ya'akov ( he, כּוֹכַב יַעֲקֹב, lit. ''Star of Jacob'') is a religious Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located between Ramah in Benjamin and Beit El near al-Bireh about 10 minutes away by car from the Jerusalem neighborh ...

Ma'ale Levona Ma'ale Levona ( he, מַעֲלֵה לְבוֹנָה, lit. ''Ascent of Frankincense'') is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement (Israel), community settlement in the West Bank. Located to the south-east of Ariel (city), Arie ...

* Ma'ale Mikhmas * Matityahu * Mevo Horon * Migron * Mitzpe Danny *

Mitzpe Hagit Mitzpe Hagit () is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. Located near the settlement of Kfar Adumim, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is home to around 25 families. The outpost was established in 1999 by ...

Mitzpe Kramim Mitzpe Kramim ( he, מצפה כרמים, lit. '' Vineyards Lookout'') is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. Located on a mountain ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is b ...

Mitzpe Yeriho Mitzpe Yeriho, also spelled Mitzpeh Yericho ( he, מִצְפֵּה יְרִיחוֹ, ''lit.'' Jericho Lookout), is a religious Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located 20 km east of Jerusalem and 10 km east of Ma'ale Adummim alon ...

* Na'ale *

Nahliel Nahliel ( he, נַחֲלִיאֵל) is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located close to the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and Deir 'Ammar, and some from Modi'in, it is organised as a community settlement (Israel ...

Neria ''Neria'' is a Zimbabwean film made in 1991, written by the novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga. It is directed by Godwin Mawuru and the screenplay was written by Louise Riber. It is the highest-grossing film in Zimbabwean history. The film concerns t ...

(Talmon Bet/North) * Neveh Erez * Halamish (Neve Tzuf) * Nili *

Nofei Prat Nofei Prat ( he, נוֹפֵי פְּרָת, ''lit.'' Prat Scenes) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located near Ma'ale Adumim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 200 ...

* Ofra * Psagot *

Rimonim Rimonim ( he, רִמּוֹנִים, רימונים), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located on the Allon Road, about a twenty-minute drive east from Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In ...

* Shiloh *

Shvut Rachel Shvut Rachel ( he, שבות רחל) is a former Israeli illegal settlement in the West Bank, retroactively designated a "neighborhood" of the settlement of Shilo, in the West Bank. Shvut Rachel sits between the Palestinian villages of Turmus A ...

Talmon Talmon ( he, טַלְמוֹן) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the West Binyamin at an elevation of nearly 600 metres and 18 km east of Modiin, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdictio ...

* Tel Zion The majority of towns and villages are communal settlements, a small number are urban in character and two are communal. 8 communities are secular; 5 communities are mixed secular and religious (Kfar Adumim, Beit Horon, Alon, Nofei Prat, Geva Binyamin); two large neighborhoods are ultra Orthodox (Tel Zion adjacent to Kochav Yaakov, and the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Adam) and the rest of the communities are religious. The

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 ...

of Ofarim was joined with the adjacent local council of

Beit Aryeh Beit Aryeh-Ofarim ( he, בֵּית אַרְיֵה-עֳפָרִים) is an Israeli settlement and local council in the northern West Bank. It is located north of Jerusalem and east of Tel Aviv, near the Palestinian village of al-Lubban al-Gharb ...

in 2003 and has ceased to exist as an independent entity. Tel Tzion is a semiautonomous neighbourhood of

, though it is set to ultimately become a separate locality, while Zeit Ra'anan is a semiautonomous neighbourhood of

. Amona was dismantled by government order in 2016 and
new site was authorized in the Shiloh Bloc
Ginot Aryeh was established in 2001 but evacuated in 2004. Settlements to be included on the Israeli 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 ...

include those in or near the

Modi'in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...

bloc ( Hashmonaim, Matityahu, Na'ale, Nili), Mevo Horon in the

Latrun Latrun ( he, לטרון, ''Latrun''; ar, اللطرون, ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers ...

area,

and Giv'on HaHadasha northwest of Jerusalem, and Almon and

in the Adummim area east of Jerusalem.

References

External links

Council website
{{Coord, 31, 54, N, 35, 13, E, display=title Israeli regional councils in the West Bank