Alfei Menashe | |
Settlement Type: | Local council (from 1987) |
Translit Lang1: | Hebrew |
Translit Lang1 Type1: | ISO 259 |
Translit Lang1 Info1: | ʔalpei Mnašše |
Translit Lang1 Type3: | Also spelled |
Translit Lang1 Info3: | Alfe Menashe (official) |
Pushpin Map: | Israel shomron |
Coordinates: | 32.1722°N 35.0147°W |
Subdivision Type1: | Region |
Subdivision Name1: | West Bank |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Judea and Samaria Area |
Established Title: | Founded |
Established Date: | 1983 |
Leader Title: | Head of Municipality |
Unit Pref: | dunam |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Blank Name Sec1: | Name meaning |
Blank Info Sec1: | Thousands of the tribe of Manasseh |
Alfei Menashe (Hebrew: אַלְפֵי מְנַשֶׁה, Arabic: ألفي منشيه,, lit. Thousands of Manasseh) is an Israeli settlement on the western edge of the central West Bank. Built over land confiscated from the nearby Palestinian villages of Nabi Ilyas, Islah, and Ras Atiya, it is located in the so-called seam zone of the West Bank.[1] Its name is taken from the bible (Deuteronomy 33:17). It was granted local council status in 1987. In its population was .
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from several Palestinian villages in order to construct Alfei Menashe:
The town's proximity to the Green Line (less than 2km (01miles) east) and its similar proximity to the Palestinian Arab town of Qalqilyah has made its inclusion on the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier controversial, especially as the looping nature of the barrier's path forms a quasi-enclave of some Palestinian villages to its south. In September 2005, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must consider re-routing the barrier in this area. Work was begun in the summer of 2009 to construct a new route for the barrier, which will no longer incorporate the Palestinian village of Ras al-Tira (and several other villages) on the Israeli side. The work was finished in 2011. (source: Google Earth)
The settlement is the hometown of Israel's most successful mixed martial artist Noad Lahat.