Ahiya (; also transliterated as Achiya or Achia) is an
Israeli outpost
In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''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 Israeli statutes ...
in the
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, about 1.5
km southeast of the
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
village of
Jalud
Jalud () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin, Shilo, an ...
. It falls under the purview of the
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a Regional Councils in Israel, regional council Local government in Israel, governing 47 Israeli settlements and Israe ...
. Israeli outposts are considered
illegal both under international law as well as under Israeli law.
It is named after the Biblical prophet
Ahijah the Shilonite
Ahijah the Shilonite (; ) was a Levite prophet of Shiloh (biblical city), Shiloh in the days of Solomon, as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Books of Kings, First Books of Kings. Ahijah foretold to Jeroboam that he would become king ().
The Hebre ...
who lived in
Shiloh, which is about 3
km to its west.
Demographics
As of 2004 permanent construction of homes in Ahiya was being carried out.
As of 2011 the population of Ahiya was about 50 people.
Geography
Ahiya is near the Israeli outpost of
Shvut Rachel
Shvut Rachel () is a former Israeli 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 Ayya, Qaryut and Jalud, part of ...
as well as the Palestinian village of
Jalud
Jalud () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin, Shilo, an ...
.
According to
ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from the
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
villages of
Jalud
Jalud () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin, Shilo, an ...
and
Qusra
Qusra (also Kusra) () is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located 28 kilometers southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Qusra had a ...
in order to construct the
Israeli outpost
In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''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 Israeli statutes ...
s of Ahiya and
Esh Kodesh
Esh Kodesh () 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 as well as under Is ...
.
Economy
Ahiya has the only Israeli owned oil press in the region. Settlers from the region bring their olives to Ahiya to be pressed.
[
]
Attacks against Palestinians
Palestinian farmers from nearby Jalud
Jalud () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin, Shilo, an ...
have accused settlers from Ahiya of taking harvested olives from them by force.[
On 9 February 2011, Israeli settlers from Ahiya attacked Jalud, demanding residents evacuate their houses and physically attacking local residents.][Armed settlers attack West Bank village](_blank)
. ''Ma'an News Agency
Ma'an News Agency (MNA; ) is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organization media network created in 2002 in the Palestinian territories among independent journ ...
''. 2011-02-09. Retrieved on 2012-02-21.
In 2022, ''Haaretz
''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' reported that residents of Ahiya attacked the nearby Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
village of Jalud
Jalud () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin, Shilo, an ...
with firebombs, torching cars and house yards, in what the Israeli newspaper called a "''pogrom''", "flaunt evil" and "settler
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
terror".
References
{{Judea and Samaria
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
Israeli settlements in the West Bank
Populated places established in 1997
Israeli outposts
Unauthorized Israeli settlements