El Matan ( he, אל מתן, , Towards Matan' or 'God's Gift) is an illegal

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost ( he, מאחז, ''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 Isr ...

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 ...

on the lands of the Palestinian village of Wad Qana, located around a kilometer south of Ma'ale Shomron, under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. The outpost was established in 2000 on the Wadi Qana

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

— one of the largest and most important such reserves in the

— by a group of religious youths from the nearby settlements of ( Karnei Shomron and Ma'ale Shomron). It is home to an estimated population of 48 (2008), around 16 families and a small number of singles, both religious and non-religious

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

. El Matan is considered an unauthorized outpost by the Israeli government and is illegal under Israeli law. The international community does not differentiate between Israeli outposts and Israeli settlements authorized by the Israeli government. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, though the Israeli government disputes this. A synagogue erected on the site was closed down for lacking a building permit from the authorities in the

Israeli Civil Administration The Civil Administration ( he, המנהל האזרחי, '; ar, الإدارة المدنية الإسرائيلية) is the Israeli governing body that operates in the West Bank. It was established by the government of Israel in 1981, in order ...

.Aviad Glickma
'Agreement: Settlers to seal El Matan synagogue,'

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the ''Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

4 November 2010. On 2 October 2014, Haaretz carried notification of a master plan envisaging the confiscation from Wad Qana, an area farmed by Palestinians, of 100 dunams of land for the El Matan outpost.'The occupation puts hand on 100 dunums to expand the outpost of El Matan in Wad Qana ,'
POICA 2 October 2010.

References

{{Shomron Regional Council Unauthorized Israeli settlements Populated places established in 2000 2000 establishments in the Palestinian territories Israeli outposts