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{{Short description|Israeli settlement in the West Bank}}
{{Coord|31|46|30|N|35|17|53|E|scale:10000|display=title}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox Israel municipality
{{Infobox settlement
|name=Ma'ale Adumim
| name = Ma'ale Adumim
|image=Maale Adumim COA.png
| native_name = {{Hlist
|imgsize=80
| {{Lang|he|מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים, מעלה אדומים|rtl=yes}}
|caption=Ma'ale Adumim's Emblem
| {{Lang|ar|معالي أدوميم|rtl=yes}}
|image3=Settlement2.JPG
}}
|imgsize3=250px
| settlement_type = ] (from 1991)
|caption3=A view of Ma'ale Adumim
| translit_lang1 = Hebrew
|hebname={{Hebrew|מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻוּמִּים, מעלה אדומים}}
| translit_lang1_type1 = ]
|arname=معاليه أدوميم
| translit_lang1_info1 = Maˁle ʔadummim
|meaning=Red mountainside
| translit_lang1_type3 = Also spelled
|founded=1976
| translit_lang1_info3 = Ma'ale Adummim (official)
|type=city
| image_skyline = Maaleadumim 009.jpg
|typefrom=1991
| image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Maale Adumim.svg
|stdHeb=
| pushpin_map_alt =
|altOffSp=Ma'ale Adummim
| pushpin_map = West Bank
|altUnoSp=Maale Adumim
| pushpin_mapsize =
|district=js
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
|population=33,000
| pushpin_map_caption =
|popyear=2007
| coordinates = {{coord|31|46|30|N|35|17|53|E|region:IL|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|area_dunam=49177
| subdivision_type1 = Country
|mayor=]
| subdivision_name1 = ] (''de facto'' ])
| subdivision_type2 = ]
| subdivision_name2 =
]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = September 21, 1975
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = ]
| unit_pref = dunam
| area_total_dunam = {{formatnum:49177|R}}
| population_footnotes = {{Israel populations|reference}}
| population_total = {{Israel populations|Ma'ale Adummim}}
| population_as_of = {{Israel populations|Year}}
| population_density_km2 = auto
| blank_name_sec1 = Name meaning
| blank_info_sec1 = Red ascent
}} }}
'''Ma'ale Adumim''' ({{lang-he-n|מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים}}) is an ] and a city near ] in the ] and on the edge of the ]. While it is located within the boundaries of the ], the city is an independent municipality achieving ] in 1991.


'''Ma'ale Adumim''' ({{langx|he|מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים}}; {{langx|ar|معالي أدوميم}}) is an urban ] organized as a ] in the ], seven kilometers ({{convert|7|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) east of ]. {{sfn|Benzaquen|2011}} Ma'ale Adumim achieved ] in 1991. In 2015, its population was {{Israel populations|Ma'ale Adummim}}. It is located along ], which connects it to ] and the ].
== History ==
The international community holds that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, within Israel, termed Judea and Samaria, are ].<ref name="BBC_GC4">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |work=BBC News |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=27 November 2010}}</ref> Israel does not agree with this view and the position of successive Israeli governments is that all authorized settlements are legal and consistent with international law.<ref>Gregory S. Mahler (2004). Politics and government in Israel: the maturation of a modern state. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-7425-1611-3.</ref>
Ma'ale Adumim was established in 1976 on territory occupied since the 1967 ]. It was built as a ] and ]an ] to nearby Jerusalem, to which many residents commute daily. According to ] (CBS) figures, the city had a total population of 33,000 at the end of 2007,<ref name="cbs populations">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2009/table3.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=]|title=Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 1,000 Residents and Other Rural Population|date=2008-06-30|accessdate=2008-10-18}}</ref> making it the third largest Israeli city in the West Bank after ], and ].<ref name="jpost">{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467697743&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|title=Report: 12,400 New Settlers in 2006|date=2007-01-10|author=Lazaroff, Tovah|publisher=]|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> The mayor of Ma'ale Adumim is Benny Kashriel, recently elected to a third term by a large majority.


==Etymology==
The first 23 families moved into Ma'ale Adumim on the seventh night of ], 1975, although the town was recognized officially only in 1976. The chief urban planner was architect ]. It achieved ] status in March 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toshav.co.il/contents/page.asp?parentID=91&contentPageID=145&%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%94%20%D7%90%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9D|title=Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim|publisher=Toshav.co.il|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> The city is located along ], which connects it to Jerusalem as a ] and the ].
The town name {{transliteration|he|Ma'ale Adumim}} is taken from two mentions made of an area marking the boundaries between two Israelite tribes{{sfn|Gonen|2000|p=43}} in the ]. At {{Bibleverse-nb||Joshua|15:7|HE}}, in a passage on the inheritance of the ], it is stated that part of the boundary ran from ] to ], facing the ''ascent of Adumim'', which the text places south of the ]. At {{Bibleverse-nb||Joshua|18:17|HE}}, in a description of the inheritance by the casting of lots that fell to ], it is stated that part of its boundaries ran from En-shemesh then to ], which likewise faced the ''ascent of Adummim''.
The urban plan for Ma'ale Adumim, finalized in 1983, encompasses a total of 35 square kilometers, of which 3.7 square kilometers have been built so far, in a bloc that includes Ma'ale Adumim, ], ], and ].<ref name="Arij">{{note label|Arij|1|a}}{{note label|Arij|1|b}} {{cite web|title=The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim|publisher=Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ)|url=http://www.arij.org/paleye/maale/index.htm|accessdate=2006-02-10}} </ref>


The ] literally means 'Red Ascent' or 'Bloody Ascent'{{efn|This is the Arabic meaning, traditionally thought to carrying the idea of the blood of travelers spilt by bandits who waylaid them on this area of their route.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=297}}}} referring to the hue of the exposed red limestone rocks, tinted by ], that in patches line the ascent from the ] towards Jerusalem.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=297}}{{sfn|Gonen|2000|p=43}}
== Etymology==
Ma'ale Adumim is mentioned in the ] {{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Joshua|chapter=15|verse=7|nobook=}}: ''The boundary ascended from the Valley of ] to ] and turned north to ], facing the ''Ascent of Adumim'' which is south of the wadi.'' Literally "Red Heights", it takes its name from the red rock lining the ascent from the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jr.co.il/ma/history.htm|title=Ma'aleh Adumim - History|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>


== Demographics == ==History==
In 2005, the population of Ma'ale Adumim was 33,259.<ref name="jpost" /> According to CBS figures for 2001, Ma'ale Adumim was 99.8% ]ish. That year, there were 12,700 males and 13,000 females, with 44.1% of the population 19 years of age or younger, 14.2% between 20 and 29, 23.1% between 30 and 44, 12.6% from 45 to 59, 2.1% from 60 to 64, and 3.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.3%. The completion of a new neighborhood, temporarily known as 07, will add approximately 15,000 residents. The population is expected to reach 45,000 in the next few years.


=== First displacement of Bedouin tribes ===
== Income ==
The ] and ] ] tribes, evicted by Israel from their traditional pastoral lands in the ] area of the ],{{sfn|Ginbar|1999|p=152-153}} settled in the area of what would become the Ma'ale Adumim municipality, then under ], after contracting with local Palestinian landowners and receiving permission to graze their livestock there. After the ] in the ] in 1967, they were gradually hemmed in by restrictions, due to pressures from the development of the Israeli settlement, many ending up in tracts of land in the vicinity of the ]{{sfn|B'tselem|2013}} or a rubbish dump near ].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}
According to the CBS, as of 2000, there were 9,965 salaried workers and 660 self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ] 6,337, a real change of 8.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of NIS 8,153 (a real change of 9.0%) versus NIS 4,615 for females (a real change of 6.3%). The mean income for the self-employed is 7,098. A total of 396 people receive unemployment benefits, and 388 receive income supplements.


=== Initiation of Israeli settlement ===
== Education ==
As early as 1968, just after the Six-Day War, ] had advanced a proposal to establish a settlement somewhere in the area of Ma'ale Adumim and ].{{sfn|Ranta|2015|pp=150–154, p.150}} The government of ] did not implement the step, because the political and diplomatic implications were significant, in that it would effectively split the West Bank. It was later opposed by ], the then head of the ]'s Settlement Department, as lying outside the scope of the ],{{sfn|Ranta|2015|pp=152–153}} and if the ']' were settled, it would further erode what land might remain over for restoring territory to the Palestinians in a future peace negotiation.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=298}}
According to the CBS, there are 14 schools and 5,793 students in the city, although several more have been added in the last few years. Ma'ale Adumim has 10 elementary schools with 3,524 elementary school students, and 7 high schools with 2,269 high school students. 66.9% of 12th graders were awarded a matriculation certificate in 2001. A large portion of Ma'ale Adumim's budget is spent on education. Schools offer after-school programs, class trips, and tutoring where needed. A special program has been developed for new immigrant children. Additional resources are invested in special education and classes for gifted children, including a special after-school program for honors students in science and math.


The idea of making an industrial park for Jerusalem in the area of Ma'ale Adumim had been circulating for some years. In August 1974, ], a major presence in the settlement project together with ] with strong connections to ], aired the idea of settling it.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=297}}{{sfn|Ranta|2015|p=151}} He had privately offered it as a recompense for settlers who had attempted to establish themselves in ], to be rebuffed when that group refused to compromise.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=298}} The links with Gush Emunim attested to a growing impact of ] ideology on Israel's developing policies regarding the ]. It is thought that the agreement to develop an industrial zone for Jerusalem there was the result of a deal struck between the ] and the government of ], as part of a bargain between members of the coalition government, for which the green light was given on 24 November 1975. This government strategy to create "]" was a response to the ] decision in ] in October to recognize the ] as the sole representative of the ].{{sfn|Ranta|2015|pp=151-152}} It was decided to permit 25 residential units to house 100 Israeli settlers/workers.{{sfn|Ranta|2015|pp=153–154}}
== Religion ==
] in 2009 in Ma'ale Adumim]] There are more than 40 ]s (of different kinds, including even Russian speakers ] synagogue), several religious schools of different types, '']s'' and ] ]. All basic religious services are supplied in the city by a local ]. The city includes a special region Mitzpe-Nevo, inhabitated by religious people.


=== Development of the settlement ===
== Land ownership ==
Problems existed from the start, since there were no budget funds allocated for the project, and ministers opposed it either on financial grounds or out of suspicions that its creation had nothing to do with the establishment of an industrial town, but masked an intention to make a civilian settlement, something opposed by ]. Whatever monies were used, ] complained,{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=306}} would detract from funds targeted for Israel's own impoverished ]s. The evidence suggests that the decision was inspired more by political needs, including the perceived need to placate far-right groups, rather than respond to the requirements of the city of Jerusalem.{{sfn|Ranta|2015|pp=152–153}} Gershom Gorenberg argues that the cabinet compromise was 'a ruse' that spoke of setting up factory housing when in fact the aim was to create a fully fledged settlement afterwards.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=305}} Galili himself argued that a settlement between Jericho and ] was needed to keep Jordanians away from the Holy City.{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=297}} In an interview several decades later, the mayor of one of the larger settlements claimed that the aim of establishing Ma'ale Adumim was to 'protect Jerusalem from Arabs' and secure the road to the ].{{sfn|Shlay|Rosen|2015|p=66}}
According to data obtained by ], 86.4% of Ma'ale Adumim is privately owned Palestinian land.<ref name="bbc1">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6168752.stm "According to the report, 86.4% of the Maale Adumim settlement block, the largest in the West Bank, is built on private Palestinian land"</ref> Palestinians claim lands from the villages of ], Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata were confiscated to create the settlement<ref>http://mondediplo.com/1999/11/08israel "Maaleh Adumim was established on lands taken from Palestinians, from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata. Other lands had been inhabited for dozen of years by the Jahalin and Sawahareh Bedouin tribes."</ref>. In 1982, the ] who had been living on the outskirts of the city were forcibly displaced to another site.<ref name="Arij" />{{Dead link|date=August 2009}}


According to the ], the site had served as a ],{{sfn|Benzaquen |2011}} before being designated to become an Israeli labourers' camp. {{sfn| B'tselem |2013}} The outpost's establishment was delayed for political reasons, despite the November decision. Yigal Allon was due to meet ] in Washington and any leak of a new settlement would have been inconvenient at that time. Galili said the timing for the setting up of camps on the site should coincide with Kissinger's movements, timing it so that the latter's ] would find him in transit to ].{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|pp=305,308}} Finally, around March 1975, following a ministerial decree to expropriate 3,000 hectares of land from the area's Palestinian villages,{{sfn|Shalev|2009|p=9}} forty members of Gush Emunim built a water tower and ] concrete hut on the site, only to be evicted the same afternoon by Israeli troops, each prospective settler carried away by four soldiers. {{sfn|McCarthy|2009}}{{sfn|Gorenberg|2006|p=309}} This site was thereafter called by the settlers "Founder's Circle". {{sfn|Nissenbaum|2015|p=121}}{{sfn|O'Malley|2015|p=231}} In 1977, ] founded a ] ] (paramilitary field seminary){{sfn|Lustick|1988|p=10}} there {{sfn|Leon|2015|p=49}} and it was also designated to become a ], ] and ] for nearby Jerusalem, to which many residents would commute daily.{{sfn|Allegra|2017|p=60}}
==Geographic significance==
Ma'ale Adumim is strategically located between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. The Palestinians see this as a threat to the territorial continuity of a future ]. This claim is disputed by mayor Benny Kashriel, who claims that continuity would be attained by circling Ma'ale Adumim to the east.<ref name="linchpin">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4419046.stm|title=Israel's 'Linchpin' Settlement|publisher=]|date=2005-11-12|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>


The boundaries of the settlement were set at some 3,500 hectares in 1979{{sfn|B'tselem|2013}} and by the early 90s had extended to 4,350 hectares.{{sfn|Rubenberg|2003|p=220}} Writing in 2003, ] stated that
Currently, Israeli drivers use a ] that exits the city to the west, entering Jerusalem through the ] Junction or a tunnel that goes under ]. These routes were built in the wake of the ] and ]s when Palestinian snipers shot at motorists and cars were stoned. The previous road passes through ] and ].
<blockquote>For the bedouins, as well as for the villagers, loss of their lands meant loss of their agricultural way of life and major transformations in their social life. Today, the area available to the villages together, with a population of approximately 40,000, is some 460 hectares. The area of Ma'ale Adumim with some 26,000 settlers, is 11.5 times greater.{{sfn|Rubenberg|2003|p=220}}</blockquote>
]]


=== Displacement of Jahalin Bedouins in 1990s ===
In March 2005, a report by ] for the ] stated that the "three major settlement blocs - ], Ma'ale Adumim and ] - will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or ]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Reports/2005/G0511608.pdf|format=PDF|title=Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine|work=Report to the Commission on Human Rights|author=Dugard, John|date=2005-03-03|publisher=]|accessdate=2006-06-27}}</ref> Israel denies these charges, and claims the solution is a by-pass road similar to those used daily by Israelis to avoid driving through hostile Arab areas. Ma'ale Adumim is expected to remain under Israeli control in future agreements with the Palestinian Authority.{{Who|date=August 2009}}
In the late 1990s, approximately 1,050 Jahalin Bedouins were displaced from land that was now annexed to form part of the settlement.<ref name="r20120620" /> ] was used as a tool for displacement. The ] disconnected one of the sewage pipes of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement on the hilltop to flood large areas around the Bedouin camp on the lower slopes of the hill. Streams and ponds of polluted matter forced the tribe to relocate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Weizman|first=Eyal|title=Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation|publisher=]|year=2012|pages=21}}</ref>


Court orders required compensation by the Israeli government and they received cash, electricity and water supplies.<ref name="r20120620" /> According to the residents, they had to sell most of their livestock and their Bedouin way of life was forcibly ended.<ref name="r20120620">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-bedouin-idUSBRE85J0TU20120620|title=Israel eyes landfill site for Bedouin nomads|work=Reuters|access-date=2012-06-20 |first=Jihan |last=Abdalla}}</ref>
The 07 development project in east Ma'ale Adumim was supported by ] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4410853.stm|title=Sharon Pledges Settlement Growth|publisher=]|date=2005-04-05|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman ] denied the 07 extension plan is a violation of the ], under which Israel agreed to freeze all building in the settlements.


=== Attack and planned expansion ===
A project to link Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, known as the ] - short for "East 1," as it appears on old zoning maps - has been criticized by the ] and other parties, including US Secretary of State ] and US President ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Benhorin, Yitzhak|title=Rice Slams Israel's Settlements Plans|publisher=]|date=2005-03-25|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3063401,00.html|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> The E1 neighborhood, tentatively called Mevaseret Adumim, is slated for completion by 2020, with 3,500-5,000 residential units.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} The new headquarters for the Judea and Samaria District police, formerly located in the Ras el-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem, is now under construction there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jr.co.il/ma/manews07.htm|title=Unilateral Thinking - April 2006|author=Kershner, Isabel|date=2006-04-17|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>. On 7th of September 2009 there was a ceremony for setting a founding stone in E1.


After Palestinian gunmen killed one Israeli and injured five Israelis near Ma'ale Adumim, Israel's far-right Finance Minister ] in February 2024 announced a "settlement response" after speaking to Prime Minister ] and Defense Minister ], as "any harm to us will lead to more construction and more development and more of our hold all over the country", with 2,350 more homes in Ma'ale Adumim being arranged for approval.<ref name=Frankel>{{cite news |last1=Frankel |first1=Julia |title=Israel plans to build 3,300 new settlement homes. It says it’s a response to a Palestinian attack |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlements-hamas-gaza-war-netanyahu-smotrich-1d2306d55c24c8559b630d9f20db30e2 |access-date=25 February 2024 |work=] |date=24 February 2024}}</ref> American Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the announcement, stating that new Israeli settlements are "inconsistent with international law" and "counter-productive to reaching an enduring peace", risking "Israel’s security".<ref name=Frankel/> '']'' reported that Israel's government in March 2024 progressed the approval of 2,452 more settler homes in Ma'ale Adumim.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gritten |first1=David |title=Israel approves plans for 3,400 new homes in West Bank settlements |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68490034 |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=] |date=6 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shezaf |first1=Hagar |title=Israel's Approves Construction of 3,476 Housing Units in West Bank Settlements |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-06/ty-article/.premium/israels-approves-construction-of-3-476-housing-units-in-west-bank-settlements/0000018e-144f-d792-a7be-3cffd18d0000 |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=] |date=6 March 2024}}</ref>
==Legal Status==
Like other Jewish towns <ref>{{cite web |author= Phil Reeves |title='Immovable' town bars the way to new state of Palestine |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/immovable-town-bars-the-way-to-new-state-of-palestine-707858.html |work= |publisher= The Independant |date=16 July 2000 |accessdate=2009-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author= Megan Steintrager |title= middle east muddle |url= http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4284932-1.html|work= |publisher= |date= 2000 November 15|accessdate=2009-10-09}}</ref> in the West Bank, Ma'ale Adumim is widely regarded by international community as illegal under international law according to Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel argues international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4419046.stm</ref>


==Archeology== ==Urban plans==
The chief urban planner was architect ]. In March 1979, Ma'ale Adumim achieved ] status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toshav.co.il/contents/page.asp?parentID=91&contentPageID=145&%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%94%20%D7%90%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9D|title=Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim|publisher=Toshav.co.il|access-date=2008-10-25}}</ref> The urban plan for Ma'ale Adumim, finalized in 1983, encompasses a total of {{convert|35|km2|abbr=out}}, of which {{convert|3.7|km2|2|abbr=out}} have been built so far, in a bloc that includes Ma'ale Adumim, ], ], and ].<ref name="Arij">{{note label|Arij|1|a}}{{note label|Arij|1|b}} {{cite web|title=The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim|publisher=Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ)|url=http://www.arij.org/paleye/maale/index.htm|access-date=2006-02-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060108160303/http://www.arij.org/paleye/maale/index.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-01-08}}</ref>
The Byzantine ] of ], once the most important monastic centre in the Judean Desert in the early Christian era, is located in Ma'ale Adumim.<ref>"The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma'ale Adummim", Yitzhak Magen, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem 1993</ref> Other archeological sites on the outskirts of Ma'ale Adumim include the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jr.co.il/ma/manews03.htm|title=Jerusalem Report Article|author=Rossner, Rena|date=2004-06-14|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> also known as the Inn of the ] (cited in a parable by Jesus, in Luke 10:30-37),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelnet.co.il/israel/Jerusalem/jeru00-TOURS.htm|title=Tours from Jerusalem|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> and the remains of the Monastery of St. ]. Khan al-Ahmar is a 13th century ] for pilgrims on the route between Jerusalem and ] via ].<ref>{{cite book|author=]|year=2008|title=The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700|publisher=Oxford University Press US|isbn=0199236666|pages=335}}</ref> The Monastery of St. Euthymius, built in the 5th century, was destroyed by the ] sultan ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jericho-city.org/etemplate.php?id=19|title=Historical Sites|publisher=Jericho Municipality|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>


== References == == Politics ==
The mayor of Ma'ale Adumim is Benny Kashriel, who was recently{{when|date=September 2020}} elected to a third term by a large majority.
{{reflist|2}}
Today, according to ]:
<blockquote>Although the bloc itself is not officially annexed to Israel, Jewish immigrants from Los Angeles or London may move directly to it, or to any other settlement, and receive a basket of government aid that includes free air travel, a financial grant, subsistence allowances for one year, rent subsidies, low-interest mortgages, Hebrew instruction, tuition benefits, tax discounts, and reduced fees at state-recognized day care centers, of which the bloc contains several.<ref>], ] 19 March 2021</ref> </blockquote>


==Geography==
== External links ==
]

The city is surrounded on four sides by the ] {{sfn|Benzaquen|2011}} and is linked to Jerusalem and the ] via Highway 1. Due to its strategic location between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, Palestinians see this as a threat to the territorial continuity of a future ]. This claim is disputed by mayor Benny Kashriel, who claims that continuity would be attained by circling Ma'ale Adumim to the east.<ref name="linchpin">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4419046.stm|title=Israel's 'Linchpin' Settlement|publisher=BBC|date=2005-11-12|access-date=2008-10-25 | first=Raffi | last=Berg}}</ref> Israeli drivers use a ] that exits the city to the west, entering Jerusalem through the ] Junction or a tunnel that goes under ]. These routes were built in the wake of the ] and ]s when Palestinian militants shot at motorists and cars were stoned. The ] passed through ] and ].

==Economy==
]
Many residents of Ma'ale Adumim are employed in Jerusalem. Others work in ], Ma'ale Adumim's industrial park, which is located on the road to the Dead Sea, about ten minutes from Jerusalem. The industrial zone houses 220 businesses, {{sfn|Benzaquen|2011}} among them textile plants, garages, food manufacturers, aluminum and metalworking factories, and printing companies.<ref name="buyitinisrael.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.buyitinisrael.com/maaleh-adumim-real-estate/ |publisher=Buyit in Israel |title=Maaleh Adumim real-estate |year=2010 |access-date=2011-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115174527/http://www.buyitinisrael.com/maaleh-adumim-real-estate/ |archive-date=2012-01-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Demographics==
In 2004, over 70 percent of the residents were secular. According to the municipal spokesman, the overwhelming majority moved to the city not for ideological reasons but for lower-cost housing and higher living standards. In 2004, 48 percent of residents were under the age of 18. Ma'aleh Adumim's unemployment rate was 2.1 percent, far below the national average.<ref name=Rossner/>

==Education and culture==
]) synagogue on Hallil Street]]
In 2011, Ma'ale Adumim had 21 schools and 80 kindergartens. {{sfn|Benzaquen|2011}} A large portion of Ma'ale Adumim's budget is spent on education. Schools offer after-school programs, class trips, and tutoring, where needed. A special program has been developed for new immigrant children. Additional resources are invested in special education and classes for gifted children, including a special after-school program for honors students in science and math.<ref name="buyitinisrael.com"/> Ma'ale Adumim College was situated in the city, but is currently defunct. Religious elementary schools in Ma'ale Adumim include Ma'aleh Hatorah, Sde Chemed, and Tzemach Hasadeh. Religious high schools are Yeshiva Tichonit, Tzvia and Amit. The city has over 40 ]s and several yeshivas, among them ].<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713142353/http://www.kehillottehilla.com/communities.asp?id=847 |date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref> Ma'ale Adumim has won the ] prize for excellence twice. It has also won the national prize for environmental quality in recognition of its emphasis on urban planning, green space, playgrounds and outdoor sculptures.<ref name=Rossner/>

], Ma'ale Adumim]]

==Healthcare==
Medical services are provided in the city through all four ]s (''kupot holim''). There is also a large geriatric hospital, Hod Adumim, providing care for recuperating patients and chronic patients. It is also used for senior citizens residence. It has facilities for nursing, the elderly, the handicapped, through the most extreme needs.

==Legality==
]
]

According to ], Israel confiscated land from the following ] villages in order to construct Ma'ale Adumim:
*4,217 ]s from ],<ref>, ARIJ, p. 19</ref>
*1,031 dunams from ],<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106184414/http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Abu%20Dis_EN.pdf |date=2018-01-06 }}, ARIJ, pp. 17-18</ref>
*406 dunams from ],<ref name="ARIJ16">, ARIJ, p. 16</ref>
*2 dunams from ].<ref>, ARIJ, 2012, p. 14</ref>
], citing official government documents, stated that 0.5% of Ma'ale Adumim was privately owned Palestinian land. Israel asserts that Ma'ale Adumin was built on "state lands," or areas not registered in anyone's name, and that no private property was being seized for building.<ref name="haaretz_gush">{{cite news|last=Shragai|first=Nadav|date=2007-03-14|title=Peace Now: 32% of land held for settlements is private Palestinian property|newspaper=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/peace-now-32-of-land-held-for-settlements-is-private-palestinian-property-1.215530|access-date=2009-07-06}}</ref> Palestinians say lands from the villages of ], ], ], ] and ] were expropriated for building in Ma'ale Adumim.<ref>http://mondediplo.com/1999/11/08israel "Maaleh Adumim was established on lands taken from Palestinians, from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata. Other lands had been inhabited for dozen of years by the ] and Sawahareh Bedouin tribes."</ref>

The Israeli human rights organisation ] criticizes: "The expropriation procedure used in Ma'ale Adummim is unprecedented in the settlement enterprise. Expropriation of land for settlement purposes is forbidden, not only under international law but also according to the long-standing, official position of Israeli governments. Most settlements were built on area that was declared state land or on land that was requisitioned - ostensibly temporarily - for military purposes. It appears that in Ma'ale Adummim, the government decided to permanently expropriate the land because it viewed the area as an integral part of Jerusalem that would forever remain under Israeli control."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/200912_maale_adummim |title=The Hidden Agenda: The Establishment and Expansion Plans of Ma'ale Adummim and their Human Rights Ramifications &#124; B'Tselem |publisher=Btselem.org |access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref>

In 2005, a report by ] for the ] stated that the "three major settlement blocs—], Ma'ale Adumim and ]—will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or ]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Reports/2005/G0511608.pdf|title=Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine|work=Report to the Commission on Human Rights|author=Dugard, John|date=2005-03-03|publisher=]|access-date=2006-06-27}}</ref> Israel says the solution is a bypass road similar to those used daily by Israelis to avoid driving through hostile Arab areas. The 2007 development project in east Ma'ale Adumim was supported by ] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4410853.stm|title=Sharon Pledges Settlement Growth|publisher=BBC|date=2005-04-05|access-date=2008-10-25}}</ref> Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman ] denied the 2007 extension plan is a violation of the ], under which Israel agreed to freeze all building in the settlements.

In 2008, a project to link Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, known as the ]—short for "East 1", as it appears on old zoning maps—was criticized by the ], US Secretary of State ] and US President ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Benhorin, Yitzhak|title=Rice Slams Israel's Settlements Plans|publisher=]|date=2005-03-25|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3063401,00.html|access-date=2008-10-25}}</ref> As a result, a plan for 3,500-5,000 homes in Mevaseret Adumim was frozen.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/police-delay-move-into-new-e-1-headquarters-but-deny-link-to-presidential-visit-1.236709 |title=Police delay move into new E-1 headquarters, but deny link to presidential visit |newspaper=] |date=January 7, 2008 |first=Jonathan |last=Lis}}</ref> The new Judea and Samaria District police headquarters, formerly located in the ] neighborhood of Jerusalem, was completed in May 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://middleeastprogress.org/2009/03/the-e1-corridor/|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120719070418/http://middleeastprogress.org/2009/03/the-e1-corridor/|url-status=dead|title=Middle East Progress|archivedate=July 19, 2012}}</ref>

Ma'ale Adumim is widely regarded by the international community as illegal under international law according to the Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel maintains that international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to the West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4419046.stm | work=BBC News | title=Israel's 'linchpin' settlement | date=2005-11-12 | access-date=2010-03-26 | first=Raffi | last=Berg}}</ref> This view was rejected by the ] and the ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706021237/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf |date=2010-07-06 }} International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44–45</ref>

==Housing shortage==
]]]
One of the purposes of establishing Ma'ale Adumim was to supply affordable housing for young couples who could not afford the high cost of homes in Jerusalem. Although the municipal boundaries cover 48,000 dunams, the city has been suffering from an acute housing shortage since 2009 due to the freeze on new construction. {{As of|2011}} most of the real estate market was in second-hand properties. {{sfn|Benzaquen|2011}}

==Archaeology==
{{Main|Monastery of Martyrius|Inn of the Good Samaritan|Laura of Euthymius}}
* The ] ] of ], once the most important monastic centre in the Judean Desert in the early Christian era, is located in Ma'ale Adumim.<ref>"The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma'ale Adummim", Yitzhak Magen, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem 1993</ref>

Other archaeological sites on the outskirts of Ma'ale Adumim include:

* ],<ref name=Rossner>{{cite web|url=http://www.jr.co.il/ma/manews03.htm|title=Jerusalem Report Article|author=Rossner, Rena|date=2004-06-14|access-date=2008-10-25}}</ref> also known as the '''Good Samaritan Inn''' (traditionally associated with an inn mentioned in a parable by ], in {{bibleverse|Luke|10:30–37}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelnet.co.il/israel/Jerusalem/jeru00-TOURS.htm|title=Tours from Jerusalem|access-date=2008-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223221632/http://www.travelnet.co.il/israel/Jerusalem/jeru00-TOURS.htm|archive-date=2009-02-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The remains of the ], built in the 5th century and destroyed by the ] sultan ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jericho-city.org/etemplate.php?id=19 |title=Historical Sites |publisher=Jericho Municipality |access-date=2008-10-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080917020530/http://www.jericho-city.org/etemplate.php?id=19 |archive-date=2008-09-17 }}</ref> It is known in Arabic as '''Khan al-Ahmar''', since the buildings were repurposed in the 13th-century as a ] for ] on the route between Jerusalem and ] via ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome|year=2008|title=The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700|publisher=Oxford University Press US|isbn=978-0-19-923666-4|page=335|author-link=Jerome Murphy-O'Connor}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
]
The Moshe Castel Museum showcases the work of Israeli artist ].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.castelmuseum.com |title= Moshe Castel Museum}}</ref>

The Tree of Life is the world's largest artistic representation of an Olive Tree. The model for the tree was a five hundred year old Olive Tree from the Garden of Gethsemane. The Tree is the artistic creation of Jerusalem artist Sam Philipe. The site is a venue for outdoor programming and weddings.

Mizpe Edna is a lookout at the Shofar and Hallil junction.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|35em}}
*{{Cite book| chapter ='Outside Jerusalem and Yet So Near': Ma’ale Adumim, Jerusalem, and the Suburbanization of Israel’s Settlement Policy
| last = Allegra
| first =Marco
| title = Normalizing Occupation: The Politics of Everyday Life in the West Bank Settlements
| editor1-last = Ariel
| editor1-first =Handel
| editor2-last = Allegra
| editor2-first =Marco
| editor3-last = Maggor
| editor3-first =Erez
| publisher = ]
| year =2017
| pages = 48–63
| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=xDrqDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA60
| isbn = 978-0-253-02505-0
}}
*{{Cite news| title = Neighborhood Watch: Unsettled market
| last = Benzaquen
| first = John
| publisher = ]
| date = 12 May 2011
| url = https://www.jpost.com/in-jerusalem/city-front/neighborhood-watch-unsettled-market
}}
*{{Cite web |ref={{harvid|B'tselem|2013}} | title = Ma'ale Adumim Area
| publisher =]
| url = https://www.btselem.org/maale_adumim_area
| date = 16 November 2013
}}
*{{Cite web | title = On the Way to Annexation: Human Rights Violations Resulting from the Establishment and Expansion of the Ma'ale Adummim Settlement
| last =Ginbar
| first =Yuval
| publisher =]
| url = https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/publications/199907_on_the_way_to_annexation_eng_0.pdf
| date = July 1999
}}

*{{Cite book| title= Biblical Holy Places: An Illustrated Guide |last= Gonen |first= Rivka |publisher=] |year= 2000 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=69u5nFnfkVYC&pg=PA43 |isbn= 978-0-809-13974-3
}}
*{{Cite book |title= The Accidental Empire:Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977 |last= Gorenberg |first= Gershom |author-link= Gershom Gorenberg |publisher=] |year= 2006 |isbn= 9781466800540 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Np_j5sSpCrEC&pg=PT438 }}
*{{Cite book| title= For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel |last= Lustick |first= Ian S. |author-link= Ian S. Lustick |year= 1988 |publisher=] |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dD-1Nm6NTHQC&pg=PA226 |isbn= 978-0-876-09036-7 }}
*{{Cite book| chapter = The Significance of the Yom Kippur War as a Turnibg Point in the Religious-Zionist Society
| last = Leon
| first = Nissim
| title = The 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Reshaping of Israeli Civil–Military Relations
| editor1-last = Lebel
| editor1-first = Udi
| editor2-last = Lewin
| editor2-first = Eyal
| publisher = ]
| year =2015
| pages = 37–53
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h9RbCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA49
| isbn = 978-1-498-51372-2
}}
*{{Cite book| title= A Street Divided: Stories From Jerusalem's Alley of God |last= Nissenbaum |first= Dion |publisher=] |year= 2015 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1_-5BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |isbn= 978-1-466-88489-2 }}
*{{Cite news| title= How settlements in the West Bank are creating a new reality, brick by brick |last= McCarthy |first= Rory |work=] |date=24 August 2009 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/24/west-bank-settlements-israel }}
*{{Cite book| title= The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine--A Tale of Two Narratives |last= O'Malley |first= Padraig |author-link= Padraig O'Malley |publisher=] |year= 2015 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3_kVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 |isbn= 978-0-698-19218-8 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Political Decision Making and Non-Decisions: The Case of Israel and the Occupied Territories |last= Ranta |first= Ronald |publisher=] |year= 2015 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YPC_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 |isbn= 978-1-137-44799-9 }}
*{{Cite book| title= The Palestinians: In Search of a Just Peace |last= Rubenberg |first= Cheryl |author-link= Cheryl Rubenberg |publisher=] |year= 2003 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NmXBmOGbHL4C&pg=PA220 |isbn= 978-1-588-26225-7 }}
*{{Cite web |title= The Hidden Agenda: Establishment and Expansion Plans of Ma'ale Adummim and their Human Rights Ramifications |last= Shalev |first=Nir |publisher=]/] |pages= 1–58 |url= https://www.btselem.org/download/200912_maale_adummim_eng.pdf |date= December 2009 }}
*{{Cite book| title= Jerusalem: The Spatial Politics of a Divided Metropolis |last1 = Shlay |first1= Anne B. |last2= Rosen |first2= Gillad |publisher=] |year= 2015 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=B7AOCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |isbn= 978-0-745-69600-3 }}

{{Refend}}
{{wide image|Ma'ale Adumim panorama.JPG|800px|Panorama of Ma'ale Adumim}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ma'ale Adumim}}
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Latest revision as of 00:48, 12 October 2024

Israeli settlement in the West Bank

City in West Bank
Ma'ale Adumim
  • מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים, מעלה אדומים
  • معالي أدوميم
City (from 1991)
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259Maˁle ʔadummim
 • Also spelledMa'ale Adummim (official)
Official logo of Ma'ale Adumim
Ma'ale Adumim is located in the West BankMa'ale AdumimMa'ale Adumim
Coordinates: 31°46′30″N 35°17′53″E / 31.77500°N 35.29806°E / 31.77500; 35.29806
CountryWest Bank (de facto Israeli-occupied)
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
FoundedSeptember 21, 1975
Government
 • MayorBenny Kashriel
Area
 • Total49,177 dunams (49.177 km or 18.987 sq mi)
Population
 • Total38,046
 • Density770/km (2,000/sq mi)
Name meaningRed ascent

Ma'ale Adumim (Hebrew: מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; Arabic: معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. In 2015, its population was 38,046. It is located along Highway 1, which connects it to Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. The international community holds that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, within Israel, termed Judea and Samaria, are illegal under international law. Israel does not agree with this view and the position of successive Israeli governments is that all authorized settlements are legal and consistent with international law.

Etymology

The town name Ma'ale Adumim is taken from two mentions made of an area marking the boundaries between two Israelite tribes in the Book of Joshua. At 15:7, in a passage on the inheritance of the Tribe of Judah, it is stated that part of the boundary ran from Debir to Gilgal, facing the ascent of Adumim, which the text places south of the wadi. At 18:17, in a description of the inheritance by the casting of lots that fell to Tribe of Benjamin, it is stated that part of its boundaries ran from En-shemesh then to Geliloth, which likewise faced the ascent of Adummim.

The toponym literally means 'Red Ascent' or 'Bloody Ascent' referring to the hue of the exposed red limestone rocks, tinted by iron oxide, that in patches line the ascent from the Dead Sea towards Jerusalem.

History

First displacement of Bedouin tribes

The Jahalin and Sawahareh Bedouin tribes, evicted by Israel from their traditional pastoral lands in the Tel Arad area of the Negev, settled in the area of what would become the Ma'ale Adumim municipality, then under Jordanian administration, after contracting with local Palestinian landowners and receiving permission to graze their livestock there. After the Israeli conquest and occupation of the West Bank in the Six-Day War in 1967, they were gradually hemmed in by restrictions, due to pressures from the development of the Israeli settlement, many ending up in tracts of land in the vicinity of the Jericho-Jerusalem road or a rubbish dump near Abu Dis.

Initiation of Israeli settlement

As early as 1968, just after the Six-Day War, Yigal Allon had advanced a proposal to establish a settlement somewhere in the area of Ma'ale Adumim and Jericho. The government of Levi Eshkol did not implement the step, because the political and diplomatic implications were significant, in that it would effectively split the West Bank. It was later opposed by Yehiel Admoni, the then head of the Jewish Agency for Israel's Settlement Department, as lying outside the scope of the Allon Plan, and if the 'Red Ascent' were settled, it would further erode what land might remain over for restoring territory to the Palestinians in a future peace negotiation.

The idea of making an industrial park for Jerusalem in the area of Ma'ale Adumim had been circulating for some years. In August 1974, Yisrael Galili, a major presence in the settlement project together with Meir Zorea with strong connections to Gush Emunim, aired the idea of settling it. He had privately offered it as a recompense for settlers who had attempted to establish themselves in Sebastia, to be rebuffed when that group refused to compromise. The links with Gush Emunim attested to a growing impact of Religious Zionist ideology on Israel's developing policies regarding the Palestinian territories. It is thought that the agreement to develop an industrial zone for Jerusalem there was the result of a deal struck between the National Religious Party and the government of Yitzhak Rabin, as part of a bargain between members of the coalition government, for which the green light was given on 24 November 1975. This government strategy to create "facts on the ground" was a response to the Rabat Summit decision in Morocco in October to recognize the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. It was decided to permit 25 residential units to house 100 Israeli settlers/workers.

Development of the settlement

Problems existed from the start, since there were no budget funds allocated for the project, and ministers opposed it either on financial grounds or out of suspicions that its creation had nothing to do with the establishment of an industrial town, but masked an intention to make a civilian settlement, something opposed by Mapam. Whatever monies were used, Yossi Sarid complained, would detract from funds targeted for Israel's own impoverished development towns. The evidence suggests that the decision was inspired more by political needs, including the perceived need to placate far-right groups, rather than respond to the requirements of the city of Jerusalem. Gershom Gorenberg argues that the cabinet compromise was 'a ruse' that spoke of setting up factory housing when in fact the aim was to create a fully fledged settlement afterwards. Galili himself argued that a settlement between Jericho and East Jerusalem was needed to keep Jordanians away from the Holy City. In an interview several decades later, the mayor of one of the larger settlements claimed that the aim of establishing Ma'ale Adumim was to 'protect Jerusalem from Arabs' and secure the road to the Jordan Valley.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the site had served as a Nahal military outpost, before being designated to become an Israeli labourers' camp. The outpost's establishment was delayed for political reasons, despite the November decision. Yigal Allon was due to meet Henry Kissinger in Washington and any leak of a new settlement would have been inconvenient at that time. Galili said the timing for the setting up of camps on the site should coincide with Kissinger's movements, timing it so that the latter's shuttle diplomacy would find him in transit to Brussels. Finally, around March 1975, following a ministerial decree to expropriate 3,000 hectares of land from the area's Palestinian villages, forty members of Gush Emunim built a water tower and prefab concrete hut on the site, only to be evicted the same afternoon by Israeli troops, each prospective settler carried away by four soldiers. This site was thereafter called by the settlers "Founder's Circle". In 1977, Haim Sabato founded a hesder yeshiva (paramilitary field seminary) there and it was also designated to become a planned community, suburb and commuter town for nearby Jerusalem, to which many residents would commute daily.

The boundaries of the settlement were set at some 3,500 hectares in 1979 and by the early 90s had extended to 4,350 hectares. Writing in 2003, Cheryl Rubenberg stated that

For the bedouins, as well as for the villagers, loss of their lands meant loss of their agricultural way of life and major transformations in their social life. Today, the area available to the villages together, with a population of approximately 40,000, is some 460 hectares. The area of Ma'ale Adumim with some 26,000 settlers, is 11.5 times greater.

Displacement of Jahalin Bedouins in 1990s

In the late 1990s, approximately 1,050 Jahalin Bedouins were displaced from land that was now annexed to form part of the settlement. Sewage was used as a tool for displacement. The Israeli Civil Administration disconnected one of the sewage pipes of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement on the hilltop to flood large areas around the Bedouin camp on the lower slopes of the hill. Streams and ponds of polluted matter forced the tribe to relocate.

Court orders required compensation by the Israeli government and they received cash, electricity and water supplies. According to the residents, they had to sell most of their livestock and their Bedouin way of life was forcibly ended.

Attack and planned expansion

After Palestinian gunmen killed one Israeli and injured five Israelis near Ma'ale Adumim, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in February 2024 announced a "settlement response" after speaking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as "any harm to us will lead to more construction and more development and more of our hold all over the country", with 2,350 more homes in Ma'ale Adumim being arranged for approval. American Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the announcement, stating that new Israeli settlements are "inconsistent with international law" and "counter-productive to reaching an enduring peace", risking "Israel’s security". Haaretz reported that Israel's government in March 2024 progressed the approval of 2,452 more settler homes in Ma'ale Adumim.

Urban plans

The chief urban planner was architect Rachel Walden. In March 1979, Ma'ale Adumim achieved local council status. The urban plan for Ma'ale Adumim, finalized in 1983, encompasses a total of 35 square kilometres (14 sq mi), of which 3.7 square kilometres (1.43 sq mi) have been built so far, in a bloc that includes Ma'ale Adumim, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon.

Politics

The mayor of Ma'ale Adumim is Benny Kashriel, who was recently elected to a third term by a large majority. Today, according to Nathan Thrall:

Although the bloc itself is not officially annexed to Israel, Jewish immigrants from Los Angeles or London may move directly to it, or to any other settlement, and receive a basket of government aid that includes free air travel, a financial grant, subsistence allowances for one year, rent subsidies, low-interest mortgages, Hebrew instruction, tuition benefits, tax discounts, and reduced fees at state-recognized day care centers, of which the bloc contains several.

Geography

Artificial pond, Ma'ale Adumim

The city is surrounded on four sides by the Judean Desert and is linked to Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area via Highway 1. Due to its strategic location between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, Palestinians see this as a threat to the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state. This claim is disputed by mayor Benny Kashriel, who claims that continuity would be attained by circling Ma'ale Adumim to the east. Israeli drivers use a bypass road that exits the city to the west, entering Jerusalem through the French Hill Junction or a tunnel that goes under Mt. Scopus. These routes were built in the wake of the First and Second Intifadas when Palestinian militants shot at motorists and cars were stoned. The previous road passed through al-Eizariya and Abu Dis.

Economy

Ma'ale Adumim municipality

Many residents of Ma'ale Adumim are employed in Jerusalem. Others work in Mishor Adumim, Ma'ale Adumim's industrial park, which is located on the road to the Dead Sea, about ten minutes from Jerusalem. The industrial zone houses 220 businesses, among them textile plants, garages, food manufacturers, aluminum and metalworking factories, and printing companies.

Demographics

In 2004, over 70 percent of the residents were secular. According to the municipal spokesman, the overwhelming majority moved to the city not for ideological reasons but for lower-cost housing and higher living standards. In 2004, 48 percent of residents were under the age of 18. Ma'aleh Adumim's unemployment rate was 2.1 percent, far below the national average.

Education and culture

Alei Higayon BeKinnor (Machanaim) synagogue on Hallil Street

In 2011, Ma'ale Adumim had 21 schools and 80 kindergartens. A large portion of Ma'ale Adumim's budget is spent on education. Schools offer after-school programs, class trips, and tutoring, where needed. A special program has been developed for new immigrant children. Additional resources are invested in special education and classes for gifted children, including a special after-school program for honors students in science and math. Ma'ale Adumim College was situated in the city, but is currently defunct. Religious elementary schools in Ma'ale Adumim include Ma'aleh Hatorah, Sde Chemed, and Tzemach Hasadeh. Religious high schools are Yeshiva Tichonit, Tzvia and Amit. The city has over 40 synagogues and several yeshivas, among them Yeshivat Birkat Moshe. Ma'ale Adumim has won the Israel Ministry of Education prize for excellence twice. It has also won the national prize for environmental quality in recognition of its emphasis on urban planning, green space, playgrounds and outdoor sculptures.

Children's park overlooking Judean Desert, Ma'ale Adumim

Healthcare

Medical services are provided in the city through all four Health maintenance organizations (kupot holim). There is also a large geriatric hospital, Hod Adumim, providing care for recuperating patients and chronic patients. It is also used for senior citizens residence. It has facilities for nursing, the elderly, the handicapped, through the most extreme needs.

Legality

Aerial view
Map of the projected expansion of Ma'ale Adumim.

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from the following Palestinian villages in order to construct Ma'ale Adumim:

Peace Now, citing official government documents, stated that 0.5% of Ma'ale Adumim was privately owned Palestinian land. Israel asserts that Ma'ale Adumin was built on "state lands," or areas not registered in anyone's name, and that no private property was being seized for building. Palestinians say lands from the villages of Abu Dis, al-Eizariya, Al-Issawiya, At-Tur and 'Anata were expropriated for building in Ma'ale Adumim.

The Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem criticizes: "The expropriation procedure used in Ma'ale Adummim is unprecedented in the settlement enterprise. Expropriation of land for settlement purposes is forbidden, not only under international law but also according to the long-standing, official position of Israeli governments. Most settlements were built on area that was declared state land or on land that was requisitioned - ostensibly temporarily - for military purposes. It appears that in Ma'ale Adummim, the government decided to permanently expropriate the land because it viewed the area as an integral part of Jerusalem that would forever remain under Israeli control."

In 2005, a report by John Dugard for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated that the "three major settlement blocs—Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel—will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or Bantustans." Israel says the solution is a bypass road similar to those used daily by Israelis to avoid driving through hostile Arab areas. The 2007 development project in east Ma'ale Adumim was supported by Ariel Sharon in 2005. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the 2007 extension plan is a violation of the roadmap peace plan, under which Israel agreed to freeze all building in the settlements.

In 2008, a project to link Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, known as the E1 project—short for "East 1", as it appears on old zoning maps—was criticized by the Palestinian Authority, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US President George W. Bush. As a result, a plan for 3,500-5,000 homes in Mevaseret Adumim was frozen. The new Judea and Samaria District police headquarters, formerly located in the Ras el-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem, was completed in May 2008.

Ma'ale Adumim is widely regarded by the international community as illegal under international law according to the Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel maintains that international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to the West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place. This view was rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Housing shortage

Ma'ale Adumim yeshiva

One of the purposes of establishing Ma'ale Adumim was to supply affordable housing for young couples who could not afford the high cost of homes in Jerusalem. Although the municipal boundaries cover 48,000 dunams, the city has been suffering from an acute housing shortage since 2009 due to the freeze on new construction. As of 2011 most of the real estate market was in second-hand properties.

Archaeology

Main articles: Monastery of Martyrius, Inn of the Good Samaritan, and Laura of Euthymius
  • The Byzantine monastery of Martyrius, once the most important monastic centre in the Judean Desert in the early Christian era, is located in Ma'ale Adumim.

Other archaeological sites on the outskirts of Ma'ale Adumim include:

Landmarks

Moshe Castel Museum in Ma'ale Adumim

The Moshe Castel Museum showcases the work of Israeli artist Moshe Castel.

The Tree of Life is the world's largest artistic representation of an Olive Tree. The model for the tree was a five hundred year old Olive Tree from the Garden of Gethsemane. The Tree is the artistic creation of Jerusalem artist Sam Philipe. The site is a venue for outdoor programming and weddings.

Mizpe Edna is a lookout at the Shofar and Hallil junction.

Notes

  1. This is the Arabic meaning, traditionally thought to carrying the idea of the blood of travelers spilt by bandits who waylaid them on this area of their route.

Citations

  1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ Benzaquen 2011.
  3. "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  4. Gregory S. Mahler (2004). Politics and government in Israel: the maturation of a modern state. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-7425-1611-3.
  5. ^ Gonen 2000, p. 43.
  6. ^ Gorenberg 2006, p. 297.
  7. Ginbar 1999, p. 152-153.
  8. ^ B'tselem 2013.
  9. Ranta 2015, pp. 150–154, p.150.
  10. ^ Ranta 2015, pp. 152–153.
  11. ^ Gorenberg 2006, p. 298.
  12. Ranta 2015, p. 151.
  13. Ranta 2015, pp. 151–152.
  14. Ranta 2015, pp. 153–154.
  15. Gorenberg 2006, p. 306.
  16. Gorenberg 2006, p. 305.
  17. Shlay & Rosen 2015, p. 66.
  18. Gorenberg 2006, pp. 305, 308.
  19. Shalev 2009, p. 9.
  20. McCarthy 2009.
  21. Gorenberg 2006, p. 309.
  22. Nissenbaum 2015, p. 121.
  23. O'Malley 2015, p. 231.
  24. Lustick 1988, p. 10.
  25. Leon 2015, p. 49.
  26. Allegra 2017, p. 60.
  27. ^ Rubenberg 2003, p. 220.
  28. ^ Abdalla, Jihan. "Israel eyes landfill site for Bedouin nomads". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  29. Weizman, Eyal (2012). Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation. Verso Books. p. 21.
  30. ^ Frankel, Julia (24 February 2024). "Israel plans to build 3,300 new settlement homes. It says it's a response to a Palestinian attack". Associated Press. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  31. Gritten, David (6 March 2024). "Israel approves plans for 3,400 new homes in West Bank settlements". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  32. Shezaf, Hagar (6 March 2024). "Israel's Approves Construction of 3,476 Housing Units in West Bank Settlements". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  33. "Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim". Toshav.co.il. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  34. "The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim". Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ). Archived from the original on 2006-01-08. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  35. Nathan Thrall, 'A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: One man’s quest to find his son lays bare the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli rule,' New York Review of Books 19 March 2021
  36. Berg, Raffi (2005-11-12). "Israel's 'Linchpin' Settlement". BBC. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  37. ^ "Maaleh Adumim real-estate". Buyit in Israel. 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  38. ^ Rossner, Rena (2004-06-14). "Jerusalem Report Article". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  39. Kehillot Tehilla: Finding the Right Community Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  40. "HOME". Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ).
  41. El 'Eizariya (including Al Ka’abina) Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 19
  42. Abu Dis Town Profile Archived 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, ARIJ, pp. 17-18
  43. Az Za'ayyem Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16
  44. 'Isawiya Town Profile, ARIJ, 2012, p. 14
  45. Shragai, Nadav (2007-03-14). "Peace Now: 32% of land held for settlements is private Palestinian property". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  46. http://mondediplo.com/1999/11/08israel "Maaleh Adumim was established on lands taken from Palestinians, from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata. Other lands had been inhabited for dozen of years by the Jahalin and Sawahareh Bedouin tribes."
  47. "The Hidden Agenda: The Establishment and Expansion Plans of Ma'ale Adummim and their Human Rights Ramifications | B'Tselem". Btselem.org. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  48. Dugard, John (2005-03-03). "Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine" (PDF). Report to the Commission on Human Rights. United Nations. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  49. "Sharon Pledges Settlement Growth". BBC. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  50. Benhorin, Yitzhak (2005-03-25). "Rice Slams Israel's Settlements Plans". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  51. Lis, Jonathan (January 7, 2008). "Police delay move into new E-1 headquarters, but deny link to presidential visit". Haaretz.
  52. "Middle East Progress". Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.
  53. Berg, Raffi (2005-11-12). "Israel's 'linchpin' settlement". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  54. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44–45
  55. "The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma'ale Adummim", Yitzhak Magen, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem 1993
  56. "Tours from Jerusalem". Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  57. "Historical Sites". Jericho Municipality. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  58. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. Oxford University Press US. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-19-923666-4.
  59. "Moshe Castel Museum".

Sources

Panorama of Ma'ale Adumim

External links

Judea and Samaria Area
Cities Map of Judea and Samaria Area
Regional committee
Regional councils
Local councils
See also
Categories: