Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tazmaniacs (talk | contribs) at 02:34, 23 February 2007 (rv (you will never consider negotiating, will you? although this is the principle of Misplaced Pages??? talking & finding a consensual version before editing, is it possible? )). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

31°46′30″N 35°17′53″E / 31.77500°N 35.29806°E / 31.77500; 35.29806

Ma'ale Adummim (Template:Lang-he; unofficially also spelled Maale Adumim) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem, and one of the largest Jewish communities in the West Bank. It is considered by the international community and the United Nations to be illegal, although the Israeli state claims it as its own .

Founded after the 1967 Six Day War, in 1976, Ma'ale Adummim is now sometimes considered by Israeli citizens to be a suburb of Jerusalem, mainly because most of its population works in Jerusalem. The settlement, which stretches almost from Jerusalem to Jericho, is built outside of the 1949 Armistice lines, or "Green Line", and is considered a major barrier to the formation of a future Palestinian state . Prior to the city's establishment on barren hilltops outside Jerusalem, the land upon which the city was built was legally unoccupied land declared "State Land" by both the Ottoman Empire and then the Kingdom of Jordan, though Palestinians claim it was home to the current Palestinian residents of the refugee camp Abu-Dies. It was annexed to Israel during the Six Days 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 .

The city's planning scheme, which was finalized in 1983, sets Ma'ale Adummim borders to an area of approximately 35 square kilometers. Of these, only 3.7 square kilometers 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 Cashriel, 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.

Construction

The settlement has various extension projects. In the east of the settlement, in an area called 07, appartment blocks are built to accomodate 3,500 Israeli settlers, supported by economic incentives from the Israeli government. This extension was supported by former Prime minister Ariel Sharon, who had implemented in the same time an unilateral disengagement plan out of Gaza 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. Ironically, notes the BBC, the construction workers are mainly Palestinians, unable to find work in other sectors . In the north of the settlement, area E1, Israel also has extension plans and ultimately wants to connect the settlement to east Jerusalem, about six kilometres away. Israeli NGO Peace Now has declared that the E1 construction project would be a disaster for peace, cutting off East Jerusalem, proposed capital of the future Palestinian state, from the rest of the West Bank .

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 the refugee camp Abu-Dies, both the Jordanians and the Israelis dismissed these claims 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 was declared as unfit for human habitation by Israeli environmentalists, according to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) . While many of the settlement's residents enjoy abundant water resources and residential pools, the surrounding Palestinians have very little access to clean water.

Importance

Ma'ale Adummim is seen by Palestinians and by the international community 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. Israeli sovereignty over the area is not recognised by the international community, and the settlement remains a major barrier to peace.

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."

The project, recently supported by former Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon, to 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.

References

1. ^ Sharon pledges settlement growth, BBC, April 5, 2005 Template:En icon
2. ^ Israel's 'linchpin' settlement, BBC, November 12, 2005 Template:En icon
3. ^ "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)
4. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
5. 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.
6. "Rice slams Israel's settlements plans". Ynetnews. March 25, 2005.

External links

• "Israel's Proposed Annexation of Ma'ale Adummim", IRmep
• Unofficial city website
• Hebrew-language map of Maʻale Adummim
• 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

• Israeli settlements
• Cities in Judea