Alfei Menashe

Alfei Menashe (Hebrew: אַלְפֵי מְנַשֶׁה, Arabic: ألفي منشيه, lit. Thousands of Manasseh) is an Israeli settlement on the western edge of the central West Bank. Built over land confiscated from the nearby Palestinian villages of Nabi Ilyas,^[2] Islah,^[3] and Ras Atiya,^[4] it is located in the so-called seam zone of the West Bank.^[5] Its name is taken from the bible (Deuteronomy 33:17). It was granted local council status in 1987. In 2023 its population was 8,126.

Alfei Menashe אַלְפֵי מְנַשֶׁה‎ ألفي منشيه
Local council (from 1987)
Hebrew transcription(s)
• ISO 259	ʔalpei Mnašše
• Also spelled	Alfe Menashe (official)
Alfei Menashe
Coordinates: 32°10′20″N 35°0′53″E
Region	West Bank
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Founded	1983
Government
• Head of Municipality	Shy Rosenzweig [he]
Area
• Total	4,616 dunams (4.616 km2 or 1.782 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	8,126
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Name meaning	Thousands of the tribe of Manasseh

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[6]

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from several Palestinian villages in order to construct Alfei Menashe:

• 1,943 dunums of land (43.8% of the total village lands) was taken from Nabi Ilyas,^[2]
• 651 dunums of land were taken from ‘Arab Abu Farda,^[7]
• 131 dunums of land were taken from Islah,^[3]
• 51 dunes were taken from Ras Atiya.^[4]

The town's proximity to the Green Line (less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east) and its similar proximity to the Palestinian Arab town of Qalqilyah has made its inclusion on the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier controversial, especially as the looping nature of the barrier's path forms a quasi-enclave of some Palestinian villages to its south. In September 2005, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must consider re-routing the barrier in this area. Work was begun in the summer of 2009 to construct a new route for the barrier, which will no longer incorporate the Palestinian village of Ras al-Tira (and several other villages) on the Israeli side. The work was finished in 2011. (source: Google Earth)^{[citation needed]}

The settlement is the hometown of Israel's most successful mixed martial artist Noad Lahat.

View from high point of Alfei Menashe, showing the nearness of the separation barrier (right) as of 2006