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Template:Infobox Israel municipality Ma'ale Adumim (Template:Lang-he-n) is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, seven kilometers from Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. In 2011, the population was 39,000. Ma'ale Adumim is the third largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank after Modi'in Illit, and Beitar Illit. The city is located along Highway 1, which connects it to Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area. Some consider Israeli settlements illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Etymology

The town name "Ma'ale Adumim" is taken from the Book of Joshua 15:7 (and 18:17): The boundary ascended from the Valley of Achor to Debir and turned north to Gilgal, facing the Ascent of Adumim which is south of the wadi. Literally "Red Ascent", it takes its name from the red rock lining the ascent from the Dead Sea.

History

Ma'ale Adumim was originally a Nahal outpost. In 1975, Yitzhak Rabin approved a plan to upgrade the site and build an urban civilian settlement there. It was designed as a planned community and suburban commuter town to nearby Jerusalem, to which many residents commute daily. The first 23 families moved into Ma'ale Adumim on the seventh night of Hanukkah, 1975, although the town was recognized officially only in 1976. The chief urban planner was architect Rachel Walden. It achieved local council status in March 1979. The mayor of Ma'ale Adumim is Benny Kashriel, recently elected to a third term by a large majority. 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, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon.

Geography

The city is surrounded on four sides by the Judean Desert. It is connected to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv area by 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 passes through Azariya and Abu Dis.

Land ownership

Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, initially claimed that 86.4% of Ma'ale Adumim was privately owned Palestinian land, basing the figure on data leaked from a government report. After Peace Now petitioned the Israeli courts to have the official data released, the group revised the figure to 0.5%. Palestinians claim lands from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata were expropriated for building in Ma'aleh Adumim. Under Islamic land law, the land in question was categorized as arazi mewat, or "dead lands." The 1858 Ottoman Land Law defines it as "Khalz land which is not in the possession of anybody, and, not having been left or assigned to the inhabitants, is distant from town or village so that the loud voice of a person from the extreme inhabited spot cannot be heard, that is about a mile and a half to the extreme inhabited spot, or a distance of about half an hour."

Economy

The Ma'aleh Adumim industrial zone houses 220 businesses.

Demographics

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2010)

CBS figures for 2001 indicate that 99.8% of the population was Jewish. 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.

In 2000, there were 9,965 salaried workers and 660 self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city was NIS 6,337. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of NIS 8,153 versus NIS 4,615 for females (a real change of 6.3%). The mean income for the self-employed was 7,098. A total of 396 people received unemployment benefits, and 388 received income supplements.

Education and culture

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. Mitzpe Nevo is a national-religious neighborhood in 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, also 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.

Legal issues

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 by-pass road similar to those used daily by Israelis to avoid driving through hostile Arab areas. The 07 development project in east Ma'ale Adumim was supported by Ariel Sharon in 2005. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the 07 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 considered 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 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 law by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Housing shortage

One of the purposes of establishing Ma'aleh 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. Most of the real-estate market in 2011 is in second-hand properties.

Archaeology

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 archeological sites on the outskirts of Ma'ale Adumim include the Khan el-Hatruri, also known as the Inn of the Good Samaritan (cited in a parable by Jesus, in Luke 10:30-37), and the remains of the Monastery of St. Euthymius built in the 5th century and destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars. Khan al-Ahmar is a 13th century travelers inn for pilgrims on the route between Jerusalem and Mecca via Nabi Musa.

Landmarks

The Moshe Castel Museum showcases the work of Israeli artist Moshe Castel. Mizpe Edna is a lookout at the Shofar and Hallil junction.

References

1. ^ Unsettled Market, Jerusalem Post, In Jerusalem, May 13, 2011
2. Lazaroff, Tovah (2007-01-10). "Report: 12,400 New Settlers in 2006". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
3. "The Geneva Convention". BBC.
4. Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jeruusalem 1999, Carta, p.41 ,ISBN 965-220-423-4 (Hebrew)
5. "Ma'aleh Adumim - History". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
6. The Olive Trees of Ma'ale Adumim
7. "Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim". Toshav.co.il. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
8. "The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim". Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ). Archived from the original on 2006-01-08. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
9. Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem
10. ^ Berg, Raffi (2005-11-12). "Israel's 'Linchpin' Settlement". BBC. Retrieved 2008-10-25. Cite error: The named reference "linchpin" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
11. 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"
12. ^ Shragai, Nadav (2007-03-14). "Peace Now: 32% of land held for settlements is private Palestinian property". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-07-06. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
13. 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."
14. Fisk is wrong on West Bank
15. Waste Land (Mewat) in Judea and Samaria: Ownership of the waste lands
16. Kehillot Tehilla: Finding the Right Community
17. 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.
18. "Sharon Pledges Settlement Growth". BBC. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
19. Benhorin, Yitzhak (2005-03-25). "Rice Slams Israel's Settlements Plans". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
20. Police delay move into new E-1 headquarters, but deny link to presidential visit, Haaretz
21. Middle East Progess
22. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
23. "The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma'ale Adummim", Yitzhak Magen, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem 1993
24. Rossner, Rena (2004-06-14). "Jerusalem Report Article". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
25. "Tours from Jerusalem". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
26. "Historical Sites". Jericho Municipality. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
27. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. Oxford University Press US. p. 335. ISBN 0199236666.
28. Moshe Castel Museum

External links

• Official municipal website
• Unofficial city website
• Americans for Peace Now report on E-1 and Ma’ale Adumim
• "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
• Peace Now’s Blunder: Erred on Ma'ale Adumim Land by 15,900 Percent
• Nefesh B'Nefesh Community Guide for Ma'ale Adumim, Israel
• Tehilla Community Guide for Ma'ale Adumim, Israel
• Places To Visit In Israel - Ma'ale Adumim
• There is water under the desert

v t e Judea and Samaria Area
Cities	Ariel Beitar Illit Ma'ale Adumim Modi'in Illit
Regional committee	Yesha Council
Regional councils	Gush Etzion Har Hevron Mateh Binyamin Megilot Dead Sea Shomron Southern Jordan Valley (Bik'at HaYarden)
Local councils	Alfei Menashe Beit Aryeh-Ofarim Beit El Efrat Elkana Giv'at Ze'ev Har Adar Immanuel Karnei Shomron Kedumim Kiryat Arba Ma'ale Efrayim Oranit
See also	Israeli occupation of the West Bank Enclave law Area C COGAT Israeli Civil Administration IDF Central Command Israeli settlement List Population statistics Seam Zone Jerusalem District

• Cities in the West Bank
• Mixed Israeli settlements