Ateret

This article is about the Israeli settlement in the West Bank. For the Crusader ruin at Jacob's Ford/Daughters of Jacob Bridge also known as Chastellet, see Battle of Jacob's Ford.

Ateret (Hebrew: עטרת, lit. 'Crown') is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located in the municipal jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, it is located on a hilltop, at an elevation of 760 metres, occupying land confiscated by Israel from three nearby Palestinian villages: Ajjul,^[2] 'Atara,^[3] and Umm Safa.^[4] In 2023 it had a population of 716.

Ateret עטרת
Etymology: Crown
Ateret Show map of the Central West Bank Ateret Show map of the West Bank
Coordinates: 31°59′59″N 35°10′37″E
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Council	Mateh Binyamin
Region	West Bank
Founded	1981
Founded by	Residents of Petah Tikva
Population  (2023)[1]	716

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[5][6][7]

Etymology

Initially, the locality was called Neve Tzof B, due to its proximity to the existing Neve Tzuf locality . Later, the name "Ateret" was given, in connection with the name of the biblical city "Atarot" in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim. This is due to the proximity to the village of Atara, which preserves this name.

History

The village was founded in August 1981 by a group, led by Tzvi Halamish, of eight families and a few singles.^[8]

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from three nearby Palestinian villages in order to construct Ateret:

• 363 dunams from Ajjul,^[2]
• 163 dunums from 'Atara,^[3] and
• 186 dunams from Umm Safa.^[4]