Maskiot ( he, מַשְׂכִּיּוֹת, ''lit.'' Artful Bowls) is an Israeli settlement 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 ...

.משכיות
Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council Located in the northern

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית בקעת הירדן, ''Mo'atza Azorit Bik'at HaYarden'', ''lit.'' Jordan Valley Regional Council), also Aravot HaYarden (''lit.'' Jordan Plains) is a regional council covering 21 Isr ...

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

History

It was founded as a

Nahal settlement Nahal settlements ( he, היאחזות נח"ל, ''Heahzut Nahal'') were settlements established by Nahal soldiers in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories. Supporting Jewish settlement growth and expansion throughout Israel was once the main f ...

in 1986 and was named after the Bible (Proverbs 25:11): "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in artful bowls." In July 2008 it was reportedly close to being expanded. According to Israeli Radio, the expansion was part of a deal between settlers in Israeli Outposts established without the permission of the

Israeli Government The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governm ...

and the Israeli Defense Ministry. Many of Maskiot's residents are planned to be settlers previously evicted from

Gush Katif Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the Ca ...

in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...

as part of the

Israeli disengagement from Gaza The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip. Th ...

. Twenty housing units will be built for evacuees of

Shirat HaYam Shirat HaYam ( he, שִׁירַת הַיָּם, lit. ''Song of the Sea'') was an Israeli settlement established in 2001 on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea west of Neve Dekalim in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip until 2005 ...

. UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

said he was "deeply concerned" over the new Maskiot plan, whereas the British government said it was "dismayed". A spokesman for US Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th ...

said that the settlement expansion was "not helpful", and "inconsistent with Israel's commitment to the roadmap".Land battle in the Jordan Valley
BBC News, 5 August 2008

References

{{Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council Israeli settlements in the West Bank Nahal settlements Community settlements 1986 establishments in the Palestinian territories Populated places established in 1986