Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built in violation of international law on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Israeli settlements currently exist in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights. East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have been effectively annexed by Israel, though the international community has rejected any change of status in both territories and continues to consider each occupied territory. Although the West Bank settlements are on land administered under Israeli military rule rather than civil law, Israeli civil law is "pipelined" into the settlements, such that Israeli citizens living there are treated similarly to those living in Israel.
A kibbutz is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism. In recent decades, some kibbutzim have been privatized and changes have been made in the communal lifestyle. A member of a kibbutz is called a kibbutznik.
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 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet. Their communities were demolished as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
Giv'at Ze'ev is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, five kilometers northwest of Jerusalem. The town was founded in 1977 on the site of the abandoned Jordanian military camp, adjacent to the site of ancient Gibeon. While it lies within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council, it is a separate municipal entity. In 2019 it had a population of 18,420.
A moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second wave of aliyah. A resident or a member of a moshav can be called a "moshavnik".
Kfar Darom, was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.
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 2019 it had a population of 3,043.
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council is a regional council governing 46 Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank. The council's jurisdiction is from the Jordan valley in the east to the Samarian foothills in the west, and from the Shiloh river in the north to the Jerusalem Mountains in the south.
Mevo'ot Yericho, founded in 1999, is an Israeli settlement and a community settlement located in the West Bank's southern Jordan Valley just north of Jericho, in the Yitav Valley. The site is 150m below sea level. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council.
The Lower Galilee Regional Council is a regional council in the Northern District of Israel. Lower Galilee Regional Council encompasses most of the settlements in the Lower Galilee with a population of 11,300 (2014), including three kibbutzim, ten moshavim and two community settlements, along with two youth villages located in its administrative territory.
The Megiddo Regional Council is a regional council in northern Israel encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the Jezreel Valley. The council is bounded by the city of Yokneam Illit to the north, and the Carmel mountain range to the east, and houses about 9600 people on nine kibbutzim, and four moshavim located in its municipal territory.
A community settlement is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in a cooperative. They have the power to approve or veto a sale of a house or a business to any buyer. Residents of a community settlement may have a particular shared ideology, religious perspective, or desired lifestyle which they wish to perpetuate by accepting only like-minded individuals. For example, a family-oriented community settlement that wishes to avoid becoming a retirement community may choose to accept only young married couples as new residents.
Alon Shvut is an Israeli settlement located southwest of Jerusalem, one kilometer northeast of Kfar Etzion, in the West Bank. Established in June 1970 in the heart of the Etzion bloc, Alon Shvut became the prototype for Jewish communities in the region. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and neighbors the communities of Kfar Etzion, Rosh Tzurim, Neve Daniel, Elazar, Bat Ayin, Midgal Oz, and Efrat. In 2019, its population was 3,098.
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to the lower course of the Jordan River, from the spot where it exits the Sea of Galilee in the north, to the end of its course where it flows into the Dead Sea in the south. In a wider sense, the term may also cover the Dead Sea basin and the Arabah valley, which is the rift valley segment beyond the Dead Sea and ending at Aqaba/Eilat, 155 km (96 mi) farther south.
Mateh Yehuda Regional Council is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 36,200 people.
Timorim is a moshav shitufi in central Israel. Located on the Israeli coastal plain around a kilometer south of the Malakhi Junction, near the town of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 777.
Ein Zivan is an Israeli settlement and kibbutz in the northern Golan Heights under the jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. In 2019 it had a population of 370.
Kidmat Tzvi is an Israeli settlement and moshav in the central Golan Heights. Located to the north of Katzrin, it falls under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 499.
Settlement movement is a term used in Israel to describe national umbrella organisations for kibbutzim, moshavim, moshavim shitufiim, and community settlements. It is not related to the term Israeli settlement, which denotes settlements outside the Green Line.
Hitahdut HaIkarim is a settlement movement for private farmers in Israel.
