Nofei Nehemia ( he, נוֹפֵי נְחֶמְיָה) 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 Isr ...

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 ...

, in the jurisdiction of the

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 Is ...

in the northern

. It is officially within the boundaries of

Rehelim Rehelim () is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Located on Route 60, between Kfar Tapuach and Eli, east of Ariel and adjacent to the Palestinian towns of Yatma and Qabalan, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Cou ...

, a nearby Israeli settlement. First established in 2002, it is situated adjacent to Rechelim on

Route 60 The following highways are numbered 60: International * Asian Highway 60 * European route E60 Australia * Bruxner Highway * Dawson Highway (Rolleston to Gladstone) - Queensland State Route 60 Brazil * BR-060 Canada * Alberta Highway 60 * ...

, between

Kfar Tapuach Kfar Tapuach ( he, כְּפַר תַּפּוּחַ, ''lit.'', Apple-village) is an Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank, founded in 1978. It sits astride Tapuach Junction, one of the major traffic junctions in the West Bank. The e ...

and Eli. The village also lies adjacent to the

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 ...

towns of

Iskaka Iskaka ( ar, إسكاكا) is a Palestinian town located in the Salfit Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, 27 kilometers southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a populati ...

and

Yasuf Yasuf ( ar, ياسوف) is a Palestinian village located in the Salfit Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, northeast of Salfit, southwest of Nablus and adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Kfar Tapuach. According ...

. A few dozen families live on the village.

Israeli outposts 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 ...

are illegal under international law and also under Israeli law.

History

The village is named after Nehemia Ben Yehuda, the head of a family who owns a

crane Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname) ...

company who have been very involved in assisting the establishment of settlements in the

. The village was established in 2002 as an

illegal outpost Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. In 2003, the Israeli government pledged to dismantle the village. In January 2021, under

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

, the Israeli government decided to legalize the illegal outpost of Nofei Nehemia by reclassifying it as a “neighborhood” of the

settlement, which itself was an illegal outpost that was legalized a few years prior.

References

Unauthorized Israeli settlements Populated places established in 2002 {{Israel-geo-stub