Amihai ( he, עַמִּיחַי) is an Israeli settlement organized as a

communal settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

in the Shilo settlement bloc in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is 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 Adei Ad ( he, עדי עד, , For ever and ever) is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank. Located near Shvut Rachel and Qusra, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. A resident of Adei Ad says that the outpost inclu ...

(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 and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

) and Northern West Bank ( Nablus,

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of a ...

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

Two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiatio ...

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

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 ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordinat ...

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

{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 2018