Caravan (Hebrew : קראוואן; pl. קראוואנים, caravanim) is an Israeli term referring to a portable building used as a living space, school classroom, synagogue, or community center.
Caravan (Hebrew : קראוואן; pl. קראוואנים, caravanim) is an Israeli term referring to a portable building used as a living space, school classroom, synagogue, or community center.
Caravanim are constructed of aluminum or other metal siding with a corrugated metal roof, and are often attached to a cement-block base. They are not insulated but can be outfitted with heating and air-conditioning units, water lines, recessed lighting, and floor tiling to function in a full-service capacity.
The establishment of caravanim on disputed land by Jewish activists is considered the first step toward the establishment of an Israeli settlement. In its initial stage of a few caravanim, the establishment is called an "outpost." As more settlers move in, the establishment is upgraded to a "settlement".
Alternately, caravanim have been established on disputed land by Israeli [1] and Palestinian activists as a sign of protest. [2]
Caravanim are popularly employed by schools — especially in Haredi neighborhoods of Israel — that are unable to finance a permanent structure. A 2008 report by the State Comptroller of Israel reported that 125 out of 186 Haredi schools in Bnei Brak, Elad and Modi'in Illit were situated wholly or partially in caravanim, some older than 15 years. The report criticized these structures for lack of ventilation, lack of bomb shelters, and lack of proper yards or playgrounds for the children. [3] Though the construction of some caravan schools violate local planning and building laws, the government does not dismantle them. [4]
Many start-up religious congregations establish their synagogues in caravanim rather than the more expensive permanent concrete-and-stone structures. [5] Synagogues housed in caravanim are common sights at Israel army bases.[ citation needed ]
Caravanim are sometimes used as inexpensive houses in new or extensions of existing localities within Israel. [6]
Most often, caravanim are employed by both settlers and the government as housing in Israeli settlement areas in the territories occupied since 1967. Residents usually live in caravanim until permanent homes are built. [7] The caravan may also be a more permanent low-rent option, particularly for young couples. [8]
The overnight installment of caravanim for housing is a popular means of establishing a new, [9] unauthorized settler outpost on disputed land. [10]
In 2005 prefabricated homes, named caravillas (Hebrew : קרווילה), a portmanteau of the words caravan and villa, were set up to house the Jewish families evicted from their homes in Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
A caravilla is composed of several prefabricated sections that are joined on a foundation. Caravillas, which vary in size from about 650 to 1,000 square feet, are akin to the Israeli concept of a villa, or single-family home. They were instrumental in pacifying objections to the disengagement plan. The biggest of these caravilla camps was established in Nitzan, north of Ashkelon with 250 caravillas, which has grown to accommodate over 500. [11]
Israeli settlements or colonies are civilian communities where Israeli citizens live, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Gush Emunim was an Israeli ultranationalist Orthodox Jewish right-wing activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights.
Beitar Illit is a Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Beitar Illit is one of Israel's largest and most rapidly growing settlements, and in 2021 had a population of 63,220.
In 2005, 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip were unilaterally dismantled and Israeli settlers and army evacuated from inside the Gaza Strip.
The population statistics for Israeli settlements in the West Bank are collected by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. As such, the data contains only population of settlements recognized by the Israeli authorities. Israeli outposts, which are illegal by Israeli law, are not tracked, and their population is hard to establish. All settlements in the West Bank were advised by the International Court of Justice to be unlawful.
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 Jewish residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demolished as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza.
Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Beit El or Beth El is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977–78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emunim. It is located in the hills north of Jerusalem, east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh, adjacent to Ramallah. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. The head of the local council is Shai Alon. In 2021 its population was 5,681. Its current population is 6,500 residents.
The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, known by the Hebrew acronym Yesha.
Ofra is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 3,026.
Kerem Atzmona was an unauthorized Israeli outpost in the Gush Katif settlement bloc, located in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip, and evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2005.
Yitzhar is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, south of the city of Nablus, just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. In 2021, it had a population of 2,020.
Ma'ale Rehav'am is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank, located south of Bethlehem and northeast of Hebron in the northeastern Judean Mountains on Road 3698 in the eastern Etzion bloc. Its mother community, the settlement of Nokdim is administrated by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, which lists Ma'ale Rehav'am as a separate "community" on its official website.
Metzad, also known as Asfar (אַסְפָר), is an Israeli settlement organised as a community settlement in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank. Established as by ultra-orthodox Jews in 1984, it is located south of Bethlehem in the eastern Judean Mountains, 14.5 km from the Green Line, outside the Separation Barrier. In January 2022 its population was 1110, up 35% from five years earlier. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.
Homesh was an Israeli settlement in the West Bank along Route 60, just south of the Palestinian towns of Silat ad-Dhahr and Fandaqumiya, illegally built over private Palestinian land. The settlement was under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. In 2005, the settlement homes were demolished along with three other settlements in the northern West Bank, at the same time as the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.
Rabbi Menachem Froman was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, and a peacemaker and negotiator with close ties to Palestinian religious leaders. A founding member of Gush Emunim, he served as the chief rabbi of Tekoa in the West Bank. He was well known for promoting and leading interfaith dialogue between Jews and Arabs, focusing on using religion as a tool and source for recognizing the humanity and dignity of all people. Together with a Palestinian journalist close to Hamas, Rabbi Froman drafted a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, known as the Froman-Amayreh Agreement. The agreement was endorsed by Hamas government, but it did not receive any official response from the Israeli government.
Migron is an Israeli settlement (outpost) in the West Bank, located within 2 km of a former outpost by the same name, that was relocated to its present site on 2 September 2012. The outpost was located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalem, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It was the largest outpost of its kind, with a population of 300. The council says it was founded in 1999 and re-founded in 2001, on land registered before 1967 by the villagers of Burqa. The Israeli government contributed NIS 4.3 million from the Construction and Housing Ministry to build Migron. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, whereas Israeli outposts, like Migron, are considered illegal not only under international law but also under Israeli law.
In Israeli law, an outpost 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 regulating planning and construction. In Israeli law, outposts are distinguished from settlements authorized by the Israeli government. This distinction between illegal outposts and "legal" settlements is not endorsed by international law, which considers both a violation of the norms, governing belligerent occupations, applicable to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Mitzpe Yair is an unauthorized Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located two kilometres south-east of Susya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hebron Regional Council. It consists of 15 prefabricated structures, and is home for several families.
This is a timeline of the development of and controversy over Israeli settlements. As of January 30, 2022 the West Bank settlement population was 490,493 and the settler population in the Golan Heights was almost 27,000 and in East Jerusalem the settler population was around 220,000.
