Amihai () is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

organized as a communal settlement in the Shilo settlement bloc 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 ...

. In it had a population of . The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, which the Israeli government disputes. There is a plan to expand Amihai both west and east, and to include the outpost of Adei Ad (currently illegal even under Israeli law) in its jurisdiction, thereby legalizing the outpost. This is a highly controversial plan, which according to both critics and advocates, will result in the effective severance of

's territorial contiguity, specifically between Central West Bank (

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

) and Northern West Bank (

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

, etc.). This would have the effect of undermining the prospects of the realization of the

Two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

.“Settlement Report: November 15, 2018.” Foundation for Middle East Peace, November 15, 2018
https://fmep.org/resource/settlement-report-november-15-2018/.
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History

Amihai is one of the few Israeli settlements to be founded in the 21st century. Authorization for Amihai was given by the Israeli government as a result of a deal with residents of Amona, who were evacuated from their homes following a 2014

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

ruling. Amona's residents asked to be moved to a hill near the Geulat Zion outpost, east of Shilo. Construction in Amihai began in June 2017. Temporary homes were installed in February 2018, and the first families moved in March 2018.

References

{{Authority control Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 2018