Ramat Gilad () is an

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''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 Israeli statutes ...

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 ...

under the jurisdiction of

Shomron Regional Council The Shomron Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Shomron'', English ''Samaria Regional Council'') is an Israeli regional council in the northern portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Thirty-five Israeli settlements fall under its jurisdict ...

. Israeli outposts in the West Bank are considered illegal both under international law as well as under

Israeli law Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman, t ...

History

Ramat Gilad was established by

Israeli settler 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 Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

and convicted terrorist

Moshe Zar Moshe Zar (; 27 January 1937 – 11 July 2025) was an Israeli settler and convicted terrorist. A Religious Zionism, religious Zionist, he was a member of the Jewish religious terrorism, terrorist organization "Jewish Underground", and was known ...

in 2001. Moshe created Ramat Gilad, as well as the nearby illegal settlement of

Havat Gilad Havat Gilad () is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, which was established as an unauthorized outpost in 2002, after which it was dismantled by official forces and rebuilt by settlers several times until being granted legal status by the I ...

, to honor of his son Gilad Zar, a security coordinator of the

, who was shot and killed in 2001 by

Palestinians 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 indigenou ...

during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. By 2009, Ramat Gilad was home to 13 families. It was considered an unauthorized outpost by the Israeli government and slated for demolition. In March 2011, the

Cabinet of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which 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 government must be approved by a vote of con ...

ordered Ramat Gilad, along with all other illegal settlements in the West Bank, to be demolished by the end of the year. In response to this, the extremist settler group

Hilltop Youth Hilltop Youth (, ''No'ar HaGva'ot'') are extremist Hardal Israeli settlements, settler youth operating in the Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli-occupied West Bank. They are known for establishing Israeli outpost, outposts without an Israeli ...

conducted a price-tag attack to defy the order. In the attack, rioters attacked an IDF base, soldiers, vehicles, and a Palestinian woman. Following the attack, a deal was reached between the government and

settlers A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

to remove nine homes located on privately owned Palestinian land. In exchange for the voluntary relocation, the Israeli government legalized the outpost as a neighborhood of the nearby

Karnei Shomron Karnei Shomron (, lit. "Rays (of light) of Samaria") is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council established in 1977 in the West Bank, east of Kfar Saba. Karnei Shomron is located northeast of Tel Aviv and north of Jerusalem. In it ...

Peace Now Peace Now ( ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is an Israeli liberal advocacy organization with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Early activism In an official document from 1982 Peace Now advocated for an und ...

stated that the deal proved to violent vigilantes that their methods were justified. The

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

condemned this decision, stating that "all wildcat settlements must be demolished, as Israel promised in the 2003 roadmap". In May 2014, the Israeli government demolished six of the settlements buildings and a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, all built on private Palestinian land. A large

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

erupted between Ramat Gilad and

in 2016.

Land mines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

in Ramat Gilad exploded as a result of the fires. In 2017, the Defense Ministry cleared mines from the area around Karnei Shomron. This was expected to allow for the construction of approximately 1,200 homes in Ramat Gilad. In 2018, the Israeli government passed " Regulation Law 2" which legalized 66 illegal settlements in the West Bank, including Ramat Gilad. In 2024,

Bezalel Smotrich Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (; born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, he previously served as a Kn ...

instructed Israeli government ministries to fund further construction and development in 70 illegal outposts, including Ramat Gilad. In January 2025, forty masked men attacked Palestinian villages near Ramat Gilad, setting fire to buildings and cars. The attacks led to an 86-year-old Palestinian man being hospitalized in

Sinjil Sinjil () is a Palestinian town northeast of Ramallah in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the central West Bank. Location Sinjil is located north-east of Ramallah. It is bordered by Turmus ayya to the east, ...

. The men clashed with IDF soldiers 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 ...

, leading to two Israeli men being shot. The shooting led to a protest and riot in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

of far-right Israelis.

References

External links

* * * * {{Shomron Regional Council Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 2001 Israeli outposts Unauthorized Israeli settlements

History

See also

References

External links