Amana (, 'Covenant') is an Israeli

settlement movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity an ...

formed by

Gush Emunim Gush Emunim (, lit. "Bloc of the Faithful") was an Israeli ultranationalist religious Zionist Orthodox Jewish right-wing fundamentalist activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan ...

in 1976. Its primary goal was "developing communities in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

, the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

and

Gush Katif Gush Katif () was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demo ...

." The initial communities it developed were

Ofra Ofra () is an Israeli settlement located in the northern Israeli occupied territories, Israeli-occupied West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Counc ...

, Mevo Modi'in,

Kedumim Kedumim (), is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Founded on Hanukkah 1975 by members of the Gush Emunim settlement movement, it later became a local council. In it had a population of . The consensus of the international commu ...

, and

Ma'aleh Adumim Ma'ale Adumim (; ) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council (Israel), city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city council (Israel), city status in 1991. In 2015, its popula ...

. Settlements developed in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, including

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

, are illegal under international law. It became a registered association in 1978. It was also recognized by the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

. Over time, it became nearly independent of Gush Emunim. An investigation by the

Israeli police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

into 15 land deals conducted by the Amana subsidiary Al Watan concluded early in 2016 that 14 of the transactions were fraudulent. One method used involved giving a suitcase full of cash to a fake Palestinian owner and taking it back afterwards. Al Watan denied the charges. Amana has provided financial support to illegal

Israeli outposts In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israeli statutes re ...

in the West Bank. On 27 June 2024, Canada imposed sanctions on the Amana movement "for their role in facilitating, supporting or financially contributing to acts of

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

... against Palestinian civilians and their property". Nearly 90 US lawmakers sent a letter to Joe Biden in late October 2024, asking him to sanction Amana, which is involved in settlement development. On November 18, 2024, the US government imposed sanctions on Amana. The executive order authorizing these sanctions was rescinded by incoming US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in January 2025.

Budget and funding

As of 2024 Amana controlled assets worth approximately NIS 600 million ($160.4 million) and had a budget of tens of millions of shekels per year, according to

Peace Now Peace Now ( ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is an Israeli liberal advocacy organization with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Early activism In an official document from 1982 Peace Now advocated for an und ...

.Sharon, Jeremy, and Jacob Magid
"US sanctions key settlement organization Amana for dispossessing Palestinians"
''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

''. 18 November 2024.

References

External links

Official website
{{Cooperative types of settlement in Israel Religious Zionist organizations Israeli settlement Settlement movements in Israel 1976 establishments in Israel Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict