| Revision as of 05:45, 25 February 2007 view sourceTazmaniacs (talk | contribs)25,976 edits dispute tag because to claim that it was "totally unoccupied" although Bedouins lived there is clearly factually false← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:35, 25 February 2007 view source SmackBot (talk | contribs)3,734,324 editsm Date/fix maintenance tagsNext edit → | ||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
| ]] | ]] | ||
| The area known as Ma'ale Adummim was originally state owned land, under the Turks during the Ottoman Empire rule and then under Jordan prior to the 1967 ]. When Israel conquered the area, Israel took over the land between Jerusalem and the Jordan River, including the land on which Ma'ale Adummim was built. This land was then declared "State Land" by the Israeli government, as it had been under the Jordanians and the Turks. Despite claims of ownership by the Palestinian residents of ], both the Jordanians and the Israelis dismissed these accusations as false and continued to recognize the land as state-owned. Starting from 1982, the ] who had been living on the outskirts of the city were ordered and sometimes physically transferred to another site, which however was declared unfit for human habitation by Israeli environmentalists.<ref name="Arij"/> In 2005, the Israeli army found weapons and a terrorist cell hidden among the surrounding Bedouin camps, further complicating the situation.{{ |
The area known as Ma'ale Adummim was originally state owned land, under the Turks during the Ottoman Empire rule and then under Jordan prior to the 1967 ]. When Israel conquered the area, Israel took over the land between Jerusalem and the Jordan River, including the land on which Ma'ale Adummim was built. This land was then declared "State Land" by the Israeli government, as it had been under the Jordanians and the Turks. Despite claims of ownership by the Palestinian residents of ], both the Jordanians and the Israelis dismissed these accusations as false and continued to recognize the land as state-owned. Starting from 1982, the ] who had been living on the outskirts of the city were ordered and sometimes physically transferred to another site, which however was declared unfit for human habitation by Israeli environmentalists.<ref name="Arij"/> In 2005, the Israeli army found weapons and a terrorist cell hidden among the surrounding Bedouin camps, further complicating the situation.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} In some cases, the Bedouin have encroached on city owned land, forcing the Israeli army to remove them back to their original camps. In 2006, a series of robberies and break-ins were attributed to Bedouins that had illegally entered the city. However, other Bedouins are able to legally enter the city and work each day, receive medical care, etc. The Ma'ale Adumim ] ambulance squad is responsible for covering the area between the edge of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, and its crews often treat Palestinian Arab and Bedouin injured and sick patients. | ||
| ===Geographic significance=== | ===Geographic significance=== | ||
Revision as of 12:35, 25 February 2007
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
31°46′30″N 35°17′53″E / 31.77500°N 35.29806°E / 31.77500; 35.29806
.jpg)
Ma'ale Adummim (Template:Lang-he; unofficially also spelled Maale Adumim) is a city and Israeli settlement in the Judea region of the West Bank, east of Jerusalem. It is located within the geographic area of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, though as a city it is independent of its jurisdiction. Founded in 1976, it is now sometimes considered to be a suburb of Jerusalem, mainly because most of its population works in Jerusalem. Prior to the city's establishment on barren hilltops outside Jerusalem, the land upon which the city was built was unoccupied land declared "State Land" by both the Ottoman Empire and then the Kingdom of Jordan. It was annexed to Israel during the Six-Day War. Once the city was established on "State Land", it was declared a city in 1991. The municipal borders are about 50 square kilometres (19 square miles) in size. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2006 the city had a total population of 31,400.
Ma'ale Adummim is the second largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank, after Modi'in Illit. The city's planning scheme, which was finalized in 1983, sets Ma'ale Adummim's borders to an area of approximately 35 km². Of these, only 3.7 km² have been built so far, representing the settlements of Ma'ale Adummim, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon. Ma'ale Adumim is governed by an elected mayor and city council. The current mayor is Benny Kashriel, recently elected to a third term by a large majority of the population.
Demographics
As of 2005, the estimated population of Ma'ale Adummim is 32,000.
According to the CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish. See Population groups in Israel.
According to the CBS, in 2001 there were 12,700 males and 13,000 females. The population of the city was spread out with 44.1% 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%. With the opening of a new neighborhood (07), which will add approximately 15,000 more residents, the population is anticipated to reach 45,000 in the next few years.
Income
According to the CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 9,965 salaried workers and 660 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is NIS 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. There are 396 people who receive unemployment benefits and 388 people who receive an income guarantee.
Education
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. They are spread out as 10 elementary schools and 3,524 elementary school students, and 7 high schools and 2,269 high school students. 66.9% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001. Ma'ale Adummim is noted for the high percentage of its budget directed towards education each year. Schools offer after-school programs, additional class trips, and extra help where needed. A special program is in place to handle dozens of children who are new immigrants who moved to Ma'ale Adummim recently. This was especially true in 2005, 2006, when dozens of children were added to the school lists.
Additional resources go for special education and classes for gifted children, including a special after-school program for science and math that takes children from all of the other schools. Children in this program are, on average, 1-2 years above their peers in level.
Controversies
The area known as Ma'ale Adummim was originally state owned land, under the Turks during the Ottoman Empire rule and then under Jordan prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. When Israel conquered the area, Israel took over the land between Jerusalem and the Jordan River, including the land on which Ma'ale Adummim was built. This land was then declared "State Land" by the Israeli government, as it had been under the Jordanians and the Turks. Despite claims of ownership by the Palestinian residents of refugee camp Abu-Dies, both the Jordanians and the Israelis dismissed these accusations as false and continued to recognize the land as state-owned. Starting from 1982, the Jahalin Bedouin who had been living on the outskirts of the city were ordered and sometimes physically transferred to another site, which however was declared unfit for human habitation by Israeli environmentalists. In 2005, the Israeli army found weapons and a terrorist cell hidden among the surrounding Bedouin camps, further complicating the situation. In some cases, the Bedouin have encroached on city owned land, forcing the Israeli army to remove them back to their original camps. In 2006, a series of robberies and break-ins were attributed to Bedouins that had illegally entered the city. However, other Bedouins are able to legally enter the city and work each day, receive medical care, etc. The Ma'ale Adumim Magen David Adom ambulance squad is responsible for covering the area between the edge of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, and its crews often treat Palestinian Arab and Bedouin injured and sick patients.
Geographic significance
Ma'ale Adummim is seen by Palestinians as a threat to the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state, given its strategic situation between the northern and southern areas of the West Bank. This claim is largely disputed by mayor Benny Kashriel and others, who say that continuity is easily attained by simply circling around Ma'ale Adumim to the east.
Currently, Israeli drivers must use the bypass road that exits the city to the right, and travels through a valley to enter Jerusalem through the French Hill Junction or a newly constructed tunnel that goes under Mt. Scopus. Both roads were built during recent intifadas, or uprisings, to allow motorists to enter Jerusalem without being stoned.
In March 2005, a report by John Dugard, a Special Rapporteur for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, stated that "the three major settlement blocs - Gush Etzion, Ma’ale Adummim and Ariel - will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or Bantustans." However, the mayor of the city and others have claimed that this would not be the case, by prominently displaying a carefully planned by-pass road, similar to the ones that hundreds of Israelis use daily to avoid injury should they pass near or through Arab areas. There is widespread expectation among Israelis that Ma'ale Adummim will be kept within Israel as part of future agreements with the Palestinian Authority.
The E1 project, recently supported by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and many others, to ultimately link Ma'ale Adummim to Jerusalem has been criticized by the Palestinian Authority and several other parties, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US President George W. Bush. However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has recently again verified his intention to follow plans long established by previous governments.
In the east of the settlement, in an area called 07, apartment blocks were built to accommodate 3,500 Israelis, notable for Ariel Sharon's support while he implemented Israel's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005. Official spokesman Mark Regev denied the 07 extension plan is a violation of the roadmap peace plan, under which Israel agreed to freeze all settlement extensions.
References
- CBS 2007
- Report: 12,400 new settlers in 2006
- ^ "The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim". Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) website. Retrieved February 10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - Israel's 'linchpin' settlement, BBC, November 12, 2005 Template:En icon
- * Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine, Report to the Commission on Human Rights, John Dugard, 3 March 2005, accessed June 27 2006.
- "Rice slams Israel's settlements plans". Ynetnews. March 25, 2005.
- Sharon pledges settlement growth, BBC, April 5, 2005 Template:En icon
External links
- "Israel's Proposed Annexation of Ma'ale Adummim", IRmep
- Unofficial city website
- Hebrew-language map of Maʻale Adummim
- "Sharon pledges settlement growth", BBC
- Bush warns Israel over West Bank, BBC
- Israel plan for new settler homes, BBC
- History of Ma'aleh Adummim
- UrbanIsrael Site: About Ma'ale Adumim: Historical, Social and Cultural Links
| Judea and Samaria Area | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Regional committee | ||
| Regional councils | ||
| Local councils | ||
| See also | ||