Mehola
Mehola is located in the Northern West Bank
Mehola
Mehola
Coordinates: 32°21′57″N 35°30′52″E / 32.36583°N 35.51444°E / 32.36583; 35.51444
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
CouncilBik'at HaYarden
RegionWest Bank
AffiliationHapoel HaMizrachi
Founded1967
Founded byBnei Akiva members
Population
 (2021)[1]
649
Websitewww.mechola.co.il

Mehola (Hebrew: מְחוֹלָה) is a religious moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near the Green Line and the Palestinian village of Bardala,[2] it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council.[3] With an area of 5,000 dunams, in 2021 it had a population of 649.

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

History

The village was established in 1967 by Bnei Akiva members. It was named after the biblical city of Abel-meholah (Judges 7:22, 1 Kings 4:12, 1 Kings 19:16), which was located in the area.[5]

The inhabitants of Mehola cultivate some of the village lands of the depopulated Palestinian village of Al-Fatur.[6]

In 1993, it was the site of Mehola Junction bombing.

In June 2012, the outpost Givat Sal'it (Hebrew: גבעת סלעית) in the northern Jordan Valley was retroactively legalised by redesignating it as a neighbourhood of Mehola, from which it is separated by a major inter-city highway.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  2. ^ Isabel Kershner,Strategic Corridor in West Bank Remains a Stumbling Block in Mideast Talks,', New York Times, 4 January 2014.
  3. ^ מחולה Archived 30 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Bikat HaYarden Regional Council (in Hebrew)
  4. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  5. ^ Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.322 , ISBN 965-220-186-3 (English)
  6. ^ Khalidi, W. (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 48. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
  7. ^ "Watchdog says Israel 'legalises' another settler outpost". AFP. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.

External links

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