Elkana or Elqana () 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 ...

and local council in the north-western

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 ...

n hills 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 ...

, located 3.1 km to the east of the Green Line and the city of

Rosh HaAyin Rosh HaAyin (; ) is a city in the Central District of Israel. It is located in the eastern ravine of the Sharon River, opposite the Samaria Mountains. The city is named after its location at the source of the Yarkon River (“Ras” meaning sou ...

.Lands Authority first published tenders for the new homes West Bank settlement of Elkana in November of 2013
- Retrieved 5 September 2014 It was founded in 1977 by a group from

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 ...

of religious and non-religious

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s, and by July 2020 it had a population of 3858. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated 1,626

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s of land from the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

village of

Mas-ha Mas-ha () is a Palestinian village in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, 24 kilometers southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of 2,370 in 2017. Location Mas-ha is n ...

in 1977 in order to construct Elkana. Elkana was established as one of the earliest settlements after 64

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

members signed a bill to allow the use of state land in the area for construction. On 1 May 1977, fifteen men climbed the hill and started preparing the area for families for the official day on 10 May. Amongst the first families to move to the settlement was that of the former

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz (; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War, and Operati ...

ten days later. Elkana became the fourth community to be established by the

Seventeenth government of Israel The seventeenth government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Rabin on 3 June 1974, following the resignation of Prime Minister Golda Meir on 11 April and Rabin's election as Labor Party leader on 26 April. It was the first time an Israeli governme ...

headed by

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, following the Kadum outpost,

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 ...

, and

Ma'ale Adumim Ma'ale Adumim (; ) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. In 2015, its population was . It is located along Highway 1, whi ...

. A few months later, forty families had moved into

prefabricated home Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...

's called 'ashkubiot' and after two years, over a hundred families lived in the village. In 1983, the first permanent structures were built as the village was divided into different neighbourhoods named after the number of homes planned in each one: 220, 165, 80, and 34 (also called ''Bnai Elkana''). More recently, two newer neighbourhoods have been built; One on the northern side of the town as well as another smaller one to the west. In November 2013 Israel published plans for 283 new homes to be built in Elkana. In January 2014 they received permission for the homes, and on 5 September 2014 announced tenders for the units. The town was named after the nearby Nahal Qana and

Elkanah Elkanah ( ''’Ĕlqānā'' "El (deity), El has purchased") was, according to the Books of Samuel, First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah (biblical figure), Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced ...

, father of

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

(1 Samuel 1:1), who is believed to have lived in the area. Virtually all of the town's residents are religious of a primarily national religious orientation. The Trans-Samarian Highway previously cut through the town until 2000 when the road, which now skirts to the south, was upgraded.

Notable residents

* Nissan Slomiansky (born 1946), Member of the Knesset * Shaul Yahalom (born 1947), Former Member of the Knesset

References

{{Authority control Israeli settlements in the West Bank Local councils in Israel Mixed Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1977 1977 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate

History

Notable residents

See also

References