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Giv'at Ze'ev

Coordinates: 31°51′51″N 35°10′11″E / 31.86417°N 35.16972°E / 31.86417; 35.16972
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Giv'at Ze'ev
  • גִבְעַת זְאֵב‎
  • چفعت زئيف
Local council
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259Gibˁat Zˀeb
 • Also spelledGivat Zeev (unofficial)
View from the wadi
View from the wadi
Giv'at Ze'ev is located in the Central West Bank
Giv'at Ze'ev
Giv'at Ze'ev
Coordinates: 31°51′51″N 35°10′11″E / 31.86417°N 35.16972°E / 31.86417; 35.16972
RegionWest Bank
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
Founded1977
Government
 • Head of MunicipalityYossi Avrahami
Area
 • Total4,841 dunams (4.841 km2 or 1.869 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total21,097
 • Density4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Name meaningZeev's Hill (also: Wolf Hill)
Websitewww.givat-zeev.muni.il (in Hebrew)

Giv'at Ze'ev (Hebrew: גִּבְעַת זְאֵב) is an urban Israeli settlement[2] in the West Bank, five kilometers northwest of Jerusalem. The settlement was founded in 1977 on the site of the abandoned Jordanian military camp, adjacent to the site of ancient Gibeon. While it lies within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council, it is a separate municipal entity. In 2022 it had a population of 21,097.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law,[3] but the Israeli government disputes this.[4][5]

Description

According to the Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, Israel has confiscated land from three nearby Palestinian villages to construct Giv'at Ze'ev:

It was named after Ze'ev Jabotinsky, and declared a local council in 1983.[citation needed] Palestinians contend that under the expropriation maps contained in military orders, the road connecting it to Jerusalem, though ostensibly designed to "facilitate Palestinian movement", actually would confiscate 15 square kilometers of prime agricultural land, on which the livelihoods of 24,000 Palestinians depend to enable the programmed development of this settlement bloc.[10]

In 1996 a program of expansion with new housing units and an envisaged 20,000 new settlers was approved, to be constructed on land confiscated from the Palestinian villages of Beitunia, Biddu, and Jib, in what Palestinians call Wadi Salman, but which the Israelis have renamed Ha'ayalot valley.[2] Twice in successive years further areas amounting to 250 acres were confiscated from Beitunia and Jib to build an additional 11,550 units.[11] On March 9, 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved the construction of 750 new homes in Giv'at Ze'ev under the Agan Ha'ayalot project. This approval stands in contrast to Olmert's policy of freezing new permits for expansion within existing settlements. Olmert argued that the project was first approved in 1999, but stopped in 2000, as a result of the Second Intifada. The approval was criticized by the Palestinian Authority, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the European Union. On the political right, the Shas party took credit for pressuring Olmert to approve the project.[12]

Both the Ayelet HaShahar synagogue and yeshiva built on private Palestinian land owned by the Allatif family of the nearby Palestinian township of Jib, are slated to be demolished by March 2014, after the prosecutor's office determined that the putative documents of land purchase were forgeries.[13]

Giv'at Ze'ev has four elementary schools and one junior high school. There are two youth movement branches: the Israeli Scouts (Arava tribe) and Bnei Akiva.

Location

It is located just off Highway 443, affording easy access to both Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area. It is connected to Jerusalem by Egged Ta'avura bus routes 131, 132, 133, 134 and to Tel Aviv by Egged bus number 471. The loop circling Giv'at Ze'ev effectively annexes over 18 square miles of Palestinian land.[14] The town is patrolled by Mishmeret Ha'gvul and a local security force, and is secured by a security fence.[citation needed] Plans are underway to set a guard post near the entrance to route 443 (currently, the road is closed off by a security fence).[citation needed]

Religious life

The religious population in mixed and includes Chardal, Dati Leumi, Charedi and Secular. There are about 20 orthodox synagogues in the town, with more expected to be built as the community expands.

Giv'at Ze'ev is the center of the Karlin-Stolin Chasidim and one of the town's most notable residents is the Stoliner Rebbe Boruch Yaakov Meir Shochet. There is also a Chabad Lubavitch community there as well.[15]

Ramat Givat Zeev

Ramat Givat Zeev is a new section that was being developed in 2013.[16] The 400 housing units include both single-family houses and multi-family apartment buildings.[17] The development is being marketed towards English-speaking religious Jews making Aliyah to Israel.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b 'An Israeli settlement in close-up,' BBC News, September 22, 2009.
  3. ^ 'An Israeli settlement in close-up,' BBC News, September 22, 2009:'Built, like all settlements, in defiance of international law on land captured in 1967, its location is strategically important, south of Israel's Highway 443 cutting into the West Bank for 20 km to connect Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.'
  4. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. December 10, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Eric Silver (March 10, 2008). "Israel defies freeze on illegal settlements". The Independent.
  6. ^ Al Jib Village Profile, ARIJ, August 2012, p. 18
  7. ^ Beit Duqqu Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 18
  8. ^ Beit Ijza village profile, 2012, ARIJ, p. 16
  9. ^ Beituniya Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 18
  10. ^ Deborah Cowen,Emily Gilbert (eds.) War, Citizenship, Territory, Routledge, 2008 p.277.
  11. ^ Cheryl Rubenberg,The Palestinians: In Search of a Just Peace,Lynne Rienner Publishers 2003 p.222
  12. ^ "PM Okays Givat Ze'ev Building Project". Jerusalem Post. March 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  13. ^ Chaim Levinson, 'Israel pledges to raze settler structures built on Palestinian land with forged deeds,' at Haaretz, September 3, 2013.
  14. ^ René Backmann,A Wall in Palestine,Macmillan 2010 p.136
  15. ^ "Chabad of Giv'at Ze'ev – Giv'at Ze'ev, Israel". Archived from the original on January 14, 2008.
  16. ^ "New Jerusalem Housing Exclusively for Anglos". October 7, 2013.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Ramat Givat Zeev". YouTube.
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