| Beit El | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Hebrew | בֵּית אֵל |
| • ISO 259 | Beit ʔel |
| • Also spelled | Bet El (official) |
| Beit El | |
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Beit El
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| Coordinates: | |
| Region | West Bank |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,528 dunams (1.5 km2 / 0.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 5,600 |
Beit El (Hebrew: בֵּית אֵל) is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a population of 5,308.[1] The head of the local council is Moshe Rosenbaum.[2] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3][4]
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In Biblical times, Bethel was the site where Jacob slept and dreamt of the angels coming up and down a ladder (Genesis 28:19).[5] Bethel has been identified with the ruins surrounding the Palestinian village of Beitin[6] and with hilltop site of Pisgat Ya'akov.
Beit El was established in 1977, ten years after the Six Day War. Several families moved into the Israel Defense Forces base and others settled on nearby hilltops. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. 1,200 families now reside in Beit El, most affiliated with the Religious Zionist Movement.
The international community considers Israeli settlements a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory and are as such illegal under international humanitarian law.[7] Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[8][9]
Peace Now reports that private Palestinian property makes up 96.85% of the land that Beit El, along with the nearby Israeli outposts of Beit El East and Jabel Artis, is built on.[10]
Beit El has a higher elevation than Jerusalem, and has cool nights in the summer and occasional snow in the winter. The Pisgat Ya'akov neighborhood has a hilltop observatory with a commanding view of the surrounding hills where one may view as far away as the Tel Aviv area and Mount Hermon on clear days.
The rabbis of the town are Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed who is also the rosh yeshiva of the local Beit El Yeshiva. Beit El has a large percentage of immigrants from other countries and is also home to a unique community of Bnei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram.[11]
The yeshiva owns and operates Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio which operates out of studios in Beit El and Petah Tikva. [12] Beit El also has a number of small factories, such as tefillin factory, a winery, metalworks, carpentry shops, a bakery and others.
In November 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the state to explain within 30 days why it has ordered the demolition of ten buildings in Beit El. The attorney for Kiryat HaYeshiva Beit El company has presented documentation showing that the land on which the buildings stand was legally purchased from the previous Arab owner. The buildings are located on the lower heights of Pisgat Yaakov, also known as Jabal Artis, overlooking Beit El to the south and west.[13]
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