Esh Kodesh () is an Israeli outpost 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 ...

near Shilo. It falls under the jurisdiction of the

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a Regional Councils in Israel, regional council Local government in Israel, governing 47 Israeli settlements and Israe ...

. Israeli outposts in the West Bank are considered illegal both under international law as well as under Israeli law. The population in 2005 was under 12 families.

History

Esh Kodesh was founded in 2000 near Shvut Rachel, one of several such settlements in the area.The extinguishing and rekindling of the `Holy Fire'
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' It was named for Esh Kodesh Gilmore, 25, who was murdered by Palestinian militants while working as a security guard at a branch of the National Insurance Institute in East Jerusalem. '' Esh Kodesh'' is also a book of sermons delivered by the Admor of Piaseczno in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

from the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 until July 1942, when the Jews of the ghetto were deported to the death camp at

Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...

. According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from the two

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 ...

villages of Jalud and Qusra in order to construct the Israeli outposts of Ahiya and Esh Kodesh. To meet the security challenges of living in an area where their presence generates hostility, residents have, in the past, undergone Mishmeret Yesha self-defense training. In 2010, the

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 ...

sentenced Zvi Strook, a resident of Esh Kodesh and the son of Orit Strook, head of the Human Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria, to 18 months in prison for the kidnapping and assault of a Palestinian teenager. In 2012, the IDF civil administration ordered Strook to vacate the land of Jalud resident Fauzi Ibrahim, which he had illegally occupied since 2010. Strook appealed the order, and when his appeal was rejected by the IDF appeals committee in 2014, he appealed to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. In December 2015, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, but granted him 12 months to vacate the land. In September 2011, the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

established a base near Esh Kodesh On 23 September 2011, Israeli security forces were called in to break up a clash between the settlers and a group of 300 villagers from Qusra. Due to the growing tension, residents of Qusra armed with flashlights and sticks began to patrol the perimeter of their village at night to thwart possible incursions by Esh Kodesh settlers. In early January 2013, after the Israeli High Court of Justice had ruled that the Palestinians of Qusra should be allowed to use one of their fields near Esh Kodesh, the Israeli Border police tried to enforce the ruling. This led to clashes with the Esh Kodesh settlers, leaving two Border Police injured. On 5 January 2013, approximately 200 Palestinians cut through the fences of the vineyard and attacked the vineyards and residents of Esh Kodesh. Twelve residents were injured, with one taken to the hospital. The vineyards were destroyed, a security vehicle was damaged, and the attackers neared homes before the military arrived. The incident was part of a continuing dispute between the Esh Kodesh settlers and nearby Palestinians over land ownership.

Price tag attacks

Settlers from Esh Kodesh have participated in price tag attacks on Palestinian property in the West Bank. 'Price tag' attack in West Bank following prevented lynch of settlers
''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'', 8 January 2014 *21 October 2011: A group of four armed and masked men from Esh Kodesh went to the Palestinian village of Jalud, threw a

stun grenade A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a Non-lethal weapon, non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces Flash blindness, ...

at Palestinian workers who were harvesting and fired in the direction of the harvesters, some of whom were then clubbed. According to the testimony of Israeli eyewitnesses, the IDF and

Border Police A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Guar ...

present did not intervene, other than to fire tear gas grenades both at the harvesters and the wounded. Amira Hass
Eight months after bloody olive harvest battle, still no justice in sight

, 22 August 2012 *3 January 2013: According to Palestinians, in a village south-east of Nablus, four cars had their tires slashed, with the words "Solidarity with Esh Kodesh", and a

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

spray-painted on a nearby wall. *7 January 2014: Cars were burnt and price tag graffiti, reading "Esh Kodesh", "revenge", and a

, were sprayed in Madama, Nablus, a Palestinian village south of Nablus.Settlers torch 2 Palestinian vehicles near Nablus
Ma'an News Agency, 8 January 2014. *8 January 2014: 30 fruit trees were cut down in a Palestinian garden center next to Kfar Qassem. The site was blazed with the slogan "Regards Eish Kodesh."'Settler 'terror': Price tag in Kfar Qassem, foiled plot against demolisher
Ynet, 10 January 2014

References

{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Religious Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1999 Mateh Binyamin Regional Council 2011 in Palestine 2013 in Palestine 2014 in Palestine Conflicts in 2011 Conflicts in 2013 Conflicts in 2014 1999 establishments in Palestine Israeli outposts Unauthorized Israeli settlements