Nahliel () is a

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

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 ...

. Located close to the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and

Deir 'Ammar Deir 'Ammar () is a Palestinian territories, Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a pop ...

, and some from

Modi'in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( ''Mōdīʿīn-Makkabbīm-Rēʿūt'') is a city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Route 443 (Israel), Highway 443. In the population ...

, it is organised as a

community settlement A community settlement (, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of town or village in Israel and in the West Bank. In an ordinary town, anyone may buy property, but in a community settlement, the village's residents are organized in a cooperative an ...

and falls under the jurisdiction 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 ...

. 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

The settlement was established in October 1984 by the

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael () was a trade union and Jewish political party in the Second Polish Republic and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew abbreviation (Hebrew: or ). History Poalei Agudas Izrael wa ...

movement, and was named after the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

city of Nahaliel and a book by

Isaac Breuer Isaac Breuer (; 1883–1946) was a rabbi in the German Neo-Orthodoxy movement of his maternal grandfather Samson Raphael Hirsch, and was the first president of Poalei Agudat Yisrael. Biography Isaac Breuer was born in Pápa, Austria-Hungary ...

, the founder of Poalei Agudat Yisrael. According to ARIJ, Nahliel was built on land confiscated from two

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 ...

towns; 396

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s from

al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

and 19 dunams from

al-Zaitounah Al-Zaitounah (, meaning "the Olive") is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine. It was formed in 2005 as the result of a merger of the villages of Abu Shukheidim and al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya. In 2007, ...

.Al-Itihad Town Profile (Beitillu, Jammala & Deir 'Ammar)
ARIJ, pp. 16-17 Most of the founders were members of the religious youth movement Ezra. The settlers initially lived in ten temporary houses that were not connected to electricity or water supplies. A trailer carrying water was delivered each day for several weeks until a water tower was erected, which was also supplied by a daily delivery. A minimal supply of electricity was provided by a tiny generator that the builders left for their use during the night. Until the start of the

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

in 1987, relationships between the settlers and residents of surrounding Palestinian villages were positive, with Palestinians visiting the settlement and settlers using the shops in the adjacent villages. During the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

, two Israeli women were ambushed and wounded by Palestinians near Nahliel. In March 2005 a group of 30 to 40 Jewish seminary students used clubs and stones to beat eight Palestinian men employed in Nahliel as they were entering the settlement. Dror Etkes of

Peace Now Peace Now ( ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is an Israeli liberal advocacy organization with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Early activism In an official document from 1982 Peace Now advocated for an und ...

, writing in 2005, stated that some of the residents were "radical settlers" on the fringes of

ultra-Orthodox Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

society, making it atypical among the ultra-Orthodox settlements.Dror Etkes, Lara Friedman
"The Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the West Bank"

, October 2005. North and east of Nahliel are lands belonging to the Palestinians of the village of Beitillu, whose residents are only allowed to work on their orchards for a few days a year. Significant damage to the Palestinian olive groves adjacent to the settlement was caused in 2012, but the culprits were unknown. The area is surrounded by barbed wire.

Amira Hass Amira Hass (; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in Gaza and the West Bank, where she has lived for almost thirty years. Biogra ...

(16 July 2012)
"Uprooting Palestinian trees - and lives"
''

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 ...

'' (Tel Aviv).

Archaeology

Within the area of the settlement there are two ancient burial caves, probably dating back to the period of the Second Temple. Just outside Nachliel there is an area marked on maps as the remains of a Jewish village called Kfar Sum, including remains of several houses, a mosaic floor and several signs of a well developed olive oil and wine industry.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Religious Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1984 Mateh Binyamin Regional Council 1984 establishments in the Israeli Civil Administration area Community settlements Israeli settlements in the West Bank