Alon (Israeli settlement)

Alon
Alon is located in the Central West Bank
Alon
Alon
Coordinates: 31°49′58″N 35°21′13″E / 31.83278°N 35.35361°E / 31.83278; 35.35361
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
CouncilMateh Binyamin
RegionWest Bank
AffiliationAmana
Founded1990
Population
 (2022)[1]
1,111

Alon or Allon (Hebrew: אַלּוֹן) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, organized as a community settlement. Alon is located to the east of Jerusalem, next to the Palestinian town of 'Anata, part of whose lands were expropriated to build Alon. Situated along the edge of the Judean desert, the settlement has a diverse religiously observant and secular population.[2]

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

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated 328 dunams of land from the Palestinian town of 'Anata in order to construct Alon.[4]

Named after Yigal Allon, it was founded in 1990[5] by a number of area residents under the aegis of the Amana settlement organisation, it was originally considered to be part of nearby Kfar Adumim so as to minimise opposition in an atmosphere in which the question of settlement was becoming increasingly controversial. Children study in a mixed secular/observant public-religious school in nearby Kfar Adumim, and attend highschool in Jerusalem.[citation needed]

Alon was one of a number of settlements linked by a road secretly built by settlers in 1995. The road links the settlement of Almon to the settlements of Kfar Adumim, Nofei Prat, and Alon. According to Pinhas Wallerstein, then head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the road was one of a number of secretly built roads under construction in the area. Wallerstein claimed that as council head, he did not need permission to construct roads, but that he would stop construction if told by the Israel Defense Forces. He also said "What are they going to do, tell us to take the road away? If the road is illegal let them take us to court."[6]

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3][7]

  • The entrance to the settlement
    The entrance to the settlement
  • Southern side of the settlement
    Southern side of the settlement
  • "Orit" lookout spot, located near the settlement
    "Orit" lookout spot, located near the settlement

References

  1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ "מטה בנימין". binyamin.org.il.
  3. ^ a b "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  4. ^ 'Anata Town Profile Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem. 21 July 2004.
  5. ^ "ישוב קהילתי אלון, אזור ירושלים". homee.co.il.
  6. ^ Herb Keinon (June 20, 1995). "Settlers Unveil Secretly-Built Road". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Kontorovich, Eugene (7 September 2016). "Unsettled: A Global Study of Settlements in Occupied Territories". SSRN 2835908.

Media related to Alon at Wikimedia Commons