Otniel

Otniel (Hebrew: עָתְנִיאֵל‎) is an Orthodox Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the southern Judaean Mountains, south of Hebron, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hevron Regional Council. In 2019, it had a population of 1,044.

Otniel

עָתְנִיאֵל‎
Otniel
Coordinates: 31°26′23″N 35°01′44″E
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
CouncilHar Hevron
RegionWest Bank
AffiliationAmana
Founded1983
Population
 (2019)[1]
1,044

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]

Etymology

Otniel is named after the Biblical judge Otniel Ben Knaz.[3]

History

The settlement was established in 1983 south of Beit Hagai and north of Shim'a and the Palestinian villages of as-Samu, Yatta and ad-Dhahiriya.

Facilities

The settlement has the following facilities:

Status under international law

The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.[4] Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[5]

Arab-Israeli conflict

In December 2002, four students were killed and ten were wounded by Palestinian gunmen in a terrorist attack on the yeshiva. [6] [7] [8]

In November 2011, an Otniel resident, Rabbi Dan Mertzbach, was killed, and two women were wounded, when an Israel Defense Forces patrol, on alert for suspected militants, fired on their car as they drove to the Cave of the Patriarchs to pray in the early hours of the morning. [9]

In January 2016, a Palestinian entered the home of a woman and stabbed her to death in front of her three children. [10]

In July 2016, Michael Marc, a resident of Otniel, was killed and members of his family wounded in a drive-by shooting at Adorayim junction near Otniel and Hevron.[11] The shooter, Muhammad Faqih (aged 29) from Dura, was eventually taken down by the IDF and Shin Bet security forces in the early morning hours of 27 July 2016.[12]

Notable residents

Notable people

References
  1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  3. "Otniel, a religious settlement in the central Har Hebron region". 29 August 2004. Archived from the original on 29 August 2004.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. The settlers' struggle BBC News. 19 December 2003
  5. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
  6. Harel, Amos (17 September 2003). "IDF Kills Hebron-area Jihad Leader" – via Haaretz.
  7. "Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs".
  8. "JPost - "Four slain, 10 wounded in attack on Otniel yeshiva"". Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  9. "Soldier who mistakenly killed rabbi: I'm sorry".
  10. "Woman killed in stabbing attack in her home in Otniel, terrorist at large".
  11. "Father murdered in front of his children in Har Hevron shooting". Israel National News.
  12. Yehoshua, Yossi (28 July 2016). "The Account was Settled" (in Hebrew). Yedioth Ahronoth. pp. 2–3.

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