Beit Aryeh-Ofarim (Hebrew: בֵּית אַרְיֵה-עֳפָרִים) is an Israeli settlement and local council in the northern West Bank. It is located 32 kilometers (20 mi) north of Jerusalem and 25 kilometers (16 mi) east of Tel Aviv, near the Palestinian village of al-Lubban al-Gharbi, 3.8 km kilometers east of the Green line. It is situated on the Palestinian side of the Israeli West Bank barrier,[2] on 8,500 dunams of land. In 2022 it had a population of 5,517.
Beit Aryeh
| |
|---|---|
Local council (from 1989) | |
 | |
  Beit Aryeh | |
| Coordinates: 32°2′15″N 35°2′59″E / 32.03750°N 35.04972°E | |
| Region | West Bank |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Governorate | Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Government | |
| • Head of Municipality | Yehuda Elboim |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8,500 dunams (8.5 km2 or 3.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | |
| • Total | 5,517 |
| • Density | 650/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | House of Aryeh - Fawns |
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3][4]
History
Established in 1981, Beit Aryeh was recognised as a local council in 1989. In 2004, it merged with Ofarim. Beit Aryeh was named for former Knesset member Aryeh Ben-Eliezer, a prominent Revisionist Zionist leader who was amongst the founders of Herut.[5]
According to ARIJ, the land for Beit Aryeh-Ofarim was confiscated by Israel from two nearby Palestinian villages: Aboud[6] and Al-Lubban al-Gharbi.[7][8]
In 2011, the Israeli Ministry of Defense signed an agreement with the municipality of Beit Aryeh approving the construction of 100 homes and a bypass road between Beit Aryeh and Ofarim.[9]
In 2020, Beit Aryeh-Ofarim was one of several Israeli settlements that dumped its untreated sewage onto lands of the nearby Palestinian village of Deir Ballut.[10]
Notable residents
References
External links
- Local council website Archived 2013-05-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Hebrew)