Kokhav HaShahar (, also spelt Kochav Shachar and Kochav HaShachar, ''trans.'' Morning Star) 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 ...

in the northern

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 ...

, organized as a

community settlement A community settlement (, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of town or village in Israel and in the West Bank. In an ordinary town, anyone may buy property, but in a community settlement, the village's residents are organized in a cooperative an ...

in the Binyamin region. Located on a mountain ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley and accessible via the

Allon Road Allon Road is the name given by Israel to Routes 458, 508, and 578 in the West Bank, running roughly south–north along the eastern watershed of the Judaean Mountains, Judaean and Samarian Hills, between Highway 1 (Israel), Highway 1 near Kfa ...

, it falls under the municipal jurisdiction of

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 ...

. In , it had a population of . The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.

History

Kokhav HaShahar was founded by nine young couples in 1979 on the site of an

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 ...

outpost According to 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 ...

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from two villages in order to build Kokhav HaShahar: *1,264

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 from Deir Jarir, *433 dunams from Kafr Malik. Near Kokhav HaShahar is a site of one of many quarries operated by Israeli companies in the West Bank.

Yesh Din Yesh Din (; transcribed into ), full name Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights, is an Israeli organization working in Israel and in the West Bank. The organization was founded in 2005 by a group of women who previously worked with the organizat ...

legal counsel

Michael Sfard Michael Sfard (; born 1972) is an Israeli lawyer and political activist specializing in international human rights law and the laws of war. He has served as counsel in various cases on these topics in Israel. Sfard has represented a variety of Is ...

said that "according to international law, so long as the West Bank is not annexed to Israel, it is forbidden for Israel to exploit the natural resources there for non-security related purposes." Sfard also stated that 74% of the gravel mined from these quarries is used for construction inside Israel, and that that means the existence of the quarries violate international law.

Maoz Esther outpost

Maoz Esther, north of Kokhav HaShahar, was an outpost established in 2005 by Kokhav HaShahar residents in memory of Ester Galia of Kokhav HaShahar, who was murdered at Rimonim junction by Palestinian terrorists. The

Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

destroyed the settlement's seven huts in May 2009. Since then, settlers have repeatedly rebuilt the outpost, and police have each time removed the huts.

Mitzpe Kramim outpost

Ma'ale Shlomo outpost

References

External links

* {{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Religious Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1979 Mateh Binyamin Regional Council 1979 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Community settlements Israeli settlements in the West Bank