Alon, Mateh Binyamin
Alon or Allon (Hebrew: אַלּוֹן) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. Alon is located to the east of Jerusalem, near Ma'ale Adumim, and along the edge of the Judean desert. The village has a diverse religiously observant and secular population.[2]
Alon | |
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Coordinates: 31°49′58.06″N 35°21′13.49″E | |
District | Judea and Samaria Area |
Council | Mateh Binyamin |
Region | West Bank |
Affiliation | Amana |
Founded | 1990 |
Population (2019)[1] | 1,031 |
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3]
History
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated 328 dunams of land from the Palestinian town of 'Anata in order to construct Alon.[4]
Named after Yigal Allon, it was founded in 1990[5] by a number of area residents under the aegis of the Amana settlement organisation, it was originally considered to be part of the nearby Kfar Adumim so as to minimise opposition in an atmosphere in which the question of settlement was becoming increasingly controversial. Children study in a mixed secular/observant public-religious school in nearby Kfar Adumim, and attend highschool in Jerusalem.
Alon was one of a number of settlements linked by a road secretly built by settlers in 1995. The road links Anatot to Kfar Adumim, Nofei Prat, and Alon. According to Pinhas Wallerstein, then head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, the road was one of a number of secretly built roads under construction in the area. Wallerstein claimed that as council head, he did not need permission to construct roads, but that he would stop construction if told by the Israel Defense Forces. He also said "What are they going to do, tell us to take the road away? If the road is illegal let them take us to court."[6]
Legal status
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3] Considering precedents, legal scholars indicate that the level of direct state involvement in “transfer” required to constitute an Art. 49(6) violation may be significantly greater than is popularly thought.[7]
References
- "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- "מטה בנימין". binyamin.org.il.
- "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- 'Anata Town Profile Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem. 21 July 2004.
- "ישוב קהילתי אלון, אזור ירושלים". homee.co.il.
- Herb Keinon (June 20, 1995). "Settlers Unveil Secretly-Built Road". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- "Unsettled: A Global Study of Settlements in Occupied Territories". Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series. 7 September 2016. SSRN 2835908. Cite journal requires
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External links
Media related to Alon at Wikimedia Commons