Shvut Rachel
Panorama of Shvut Rachel as seen from Shilo
Shvut Rachel (Hebrew: ) is an Israeli settlement
and a city in the West Bank, located 45 kilometers (30
mi) north of Jerusalem.[1] Shvut Rachel is located in the
Shiloh area in Binyamin. Nearby Israeli settlements in-
clude Shilo, Giv'at Har'el, Esh Kodesh, Keeda, and Adei
Ad. The village, administrated by the Matte Binyamin Homes in Shvut Rachel
Regional Council, has a population of 100 families. The
international community considers Israeli settlements in
the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Is- Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer
raeli government disputes this.[2] The Sasson Report in of an occupying powers civilian population into occupied
2005 noted that the settlement extends over Palestinian territory. Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Con-
land, part of which is owned by Fawzi Haj Ibrahim Mo- vention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had
hammad from Jalud, turned over to the settlement after not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel tak-
the Israeli authorities declared it state land.[3] ing control of them.[2] This view has been rejected by the
International Court of Justice and the International Com-
mittee of the Red Cross.[7]
1 History Israel itself dierentiates between legal and illegal
settlements. Shvut Rachel was illegal by Israeli stan-
The village was founded in November 1991[4] in mem- dards until February 2012. According to Peace Now, the
ory of the victims of a terrorist attack on a civilian bus. Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories
Rachela Druk of Shilo, a mother of 7, and Yitzhak Rofe, legalized the outpost by redesignating it as a neighbor-
the bus driver - who were on their way to a demonstra- hood of Shilo.[8]
tion in Tel Aviv. On the night of the funerals, a group of
students from the yeshiva in Shilo as well as two young
couples, including a pregnant woman who gave birth a
week later, established Shvut Rachel. The settlers moved 3 Midreshet Binat
on to the land without government permission.[5]
In February 2012 the Israeli government approved the Binat is a midrasha located in Shvut Rachel. Headed by
construction of new housing units in Shvut Rachel. This Rabbi Ronen Tamir, it was founded in 2000 as an addi-
action was condemned by the High Representative of tional branch of the nearby yeshiva in Shilo. It includes
the Union for Foreign Aairs and Security Policy of the a regular seminary program, a one-month program in
European Union, Catherine Ashton.[6] September for college students, and a joint program with
Beit Vegan Teachers College. It is associated with the
Talpiot College of Education.
2 Legal status
Like all Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied terri- 4 See also
tories, Shvut Rachel is considered illegal under interna-
tional law, though Israel disputes this. The international
community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Yaakov Teitel
1
2 6 EXTERNAL LINKS
5 References
[1] Aaron J. Klein (November 2, 2009). Israeli Police: U.S.-
Born Settler Was a Terrorist. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
[2] The Geneva Convention. BBC News. 10 December
2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
[3] Naomi Zevelo,'Of Olives, Politics and Palestinians:One
Mans Harvest Is Anothers Freedom Struggle,' The For-
ward 16 November 2014.
[4] Jerusalem Post: US joins PA, UN in slamming outpost
plans. February 23, 2012.
[5] Karin Laub (March 1, 2012). Israel legalizes unsanc-
tioned settler enclave. Associated Press. Retrieved Au-
gust 21, 2012.
[6] Statement by the Spokesperson of the EU High Rep-
resentative Catherine Ashton on Israeli Settlement Ap-
provals of 22 February. Targeted News Service. Febru-
ary 23, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
[7] Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory International Court of Jus-
tice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
[8] Watchdog says Israel 'legalises another settler outpost.
Agence France-Presse. July 16, 2012. Retrieved August
21, 2012.
6 External links
Shvut Rachel
Shvut Rachel on Matte Binyamin communities page
Midrasha Homepage
Coordinates: 3203N 3518E / 32.050N 35.300E
3
7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
7.1 Text
Shvut Rachel Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shvut_Rachel?oldid=781873622 Contributors: Fintor, Yamamoto Ichiro, Number 57,
Huldra, SmackBot, Tewk, Shuki, Rrburke, P199, Iridescent, Gilabrand, Nishidani, Thijs!bot, Magioladitis, The Anomebot2, Michael-
Netzer, Johnpacklambert, Hertz1888, Sean.hoyland, Leppi, Aua, Nableezy, Addbot, Lightbot, , J04n, Supreme Deliciousness,
TobeBot, Weedwhacker128, IRISZOOM, ZroBot, Thargor Orlando, Greyshark09, Alf.laylah.wa.laylah, Ashtul, Ilkhader, SRaemiA, Zhu-
jiangshuiguai, Avisand and Anonymous: 16
7.2 Images
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Houses_in_Shevut-Rachel.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Houses_in_Shevut-Rachel.jpg Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
File:Shevut-Rachel_seen_from_Shilo.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Shevut-Rachel_seen_
from_Shilo.jpg License: CC BY 1.0 Contributors: Own work
Original text: . Original artist:
7.3 Content license
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
