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Template:Infobox Israel municipality Ma'ale Adumim (Template:Lang-he-n) is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, near Jerusalem on the edge of the Judean desert. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. In 2010, it had a population of 34,300. Ma'ale Adumim is the third largest Israeli city in the West Bank after Modi'in Illit, and Beitar Illit. The city is located along Highway 1, which connects it to Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area.

History

Ma'ale Adumim was established in 1976. It was built as a planned community and suburban commuter town to nearby Jerusalem, to which many residents commute daily. The first 23 families moved into Ma'ale Adumim on the seventh night of Hanukkah, 1975, although the town was recognized officially only in 1976. The chief urban planner was architect Rachel Walden. It achieved local council status in March 1979. The mayor of Ma'ale Adumim is Benny Kashriel, recently elected to a third term by a large majority. The urban plan for Ma'ale Adumim, finalized in 1983, encompasses a total of 35 square kilometers, of which 3.7 square kilometers have been built so far, in a bloc that includes Ma'ale Adumim, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon.

Etymology

The town name "Ma'ale Adumim" is taken from the Book of Joshua 15:7 (and 18:17): The boundary ascended from the Valley of Achor to Debir and turned north to Gilgal, facing the Ascent of Adumim which is south of the wadi. Literally "Red Heights", it takes its name from the red rock lining the ascent from the Dead Sea.

Demographics

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2010)

CBS figures for 2001 indicate that 99.8% of the population was Jewish. That year, there were 12,700 males and 13,000 females, with 44.1% of the population 19 years of age or younger, 14.2% between 20 and 29, 23.1% between 30 and 44, 12.6% from 45 to 59, 2.1% from 60 to 64, and 3.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.3%. The completion of a new neighborhood, temporarily known as 07, will add approximately 15,000 residents. The population is expected to reach 45,000 in the next few years.

In 2000, there were 9,965 salaried workers and 660 self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city was NIS 6,337. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of NIS 8,153 versus NIS 4,615 for females (a real change of 6.3%). The mean income for the self-employed was 7,098. A total of 396 people received unemployment benefits, and 388 received income supplements.

Healthcare

Medical services are provided in the city through all four Health maintenance organizations (kupot holim). There is also a large geriatric hospital, Hod Adumim, also providing care for recuperating patients and chronic patients. It is also used for senior citizens residence. It has facilities for nursing, the elderly, the handicapped, through the most extreme needs.

Schools and public institutions

In 2001, Ma'ale Adumim had 10 elementary schools with 3,524 elementary school students, and 7 high schools with 2,269 high school students. 66.9% of 12th graders were awarded a matriculation certificate. A large portion of Ma'ale Adumim's budget is spent on education. Schools offer after-school programs, class trips, and tutoring where needed. A special program has been developed for new immigrant children. Additional resources are invested in special education and classes for gifted children, including a special after-school program for honors students in science and math. The Ma'ale Adumim College was situated in the city, but is currently defunct. There are over 40 synagogues and several yeshivas, among them Yeshivat Birkat Moshe. Mitzpe Nevo is a national-religious neighborhood in Ma'ale Adumim.

Land ownership

Peace Now, an organization advocating for the return to pre-1967 borders, incorrectly reported that 86.4% of Ma'ale Adumim was privately owned Palestinian land, basing the figure on data leaked from a government report. After Peace Now successfully petitioned the Israeli courts to have the government release the official data, the group revised the figure to 0.5% of the property having been privately owned Palestinian land. Palestinians claim lands from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata were confiscated to create the settlement.

Geography and legality issues

The city is located along Highway 1, which connects it to Jerusalem as a freeway and the Tel Aviv area. Due to its strategic location between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, Palestinians see this as a threat to the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state. This claim is disputed by mayor Benny Kashriel, who claims that continuity would be attained by circling Ma'ale Adumim to the east. Israeli drivers use a bypass road that exits the city to the west, entering Jerusalem through the French Hill Junction or a tunnel that goes under Mt. Scopus. These routes were built in the wake of the First and Second Intifadas when Palestinian militants shot at motorists and cars were stoned. The previous road passes through Azariya and Abu Dis. In 2005, a report by John Dugard for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated that the "three major settlement blocs - Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel - will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or Bantustans." Israel says the solution is a by-pass road similar to those used daily by Israelis to avoid driving through hostile Arab areas. The 07 development project in east Ma'ale Adumim was supported by Ariel Sharon in 2005. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the 07 extension plan is a violation of the roadmap peace plan, under which Israel agreed to freeze all building in the settlements.

In 2008, a project to link Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, known as the E1 project - short for "East 1," as it appears on old zoning maps - was criticized by the Palestinian Authority, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US President George W. Bush. The E1 neighborhood, tentatively called Mevaseret Adumim, comprises 3,500-5,000 residential units. The new headquarters for the Judea and Samaria District police, formerly located in the Ras el-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem, is under construction there.. On 7 September 2009 there was a ceremony for setting a founding stone in E1.

Ma'ale Adumim is considered illegal under international law according to Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel maintains that international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to the West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place. This view was rejected law by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Archaeology

The Byzantine monastery of Martyrius, once the most important monastic centre in the Judean Desert in the early Christian era, is located in Ma'ale Adumim. Other archeological sites on the outskirts of Ma'ale Adumim include the Khan el-Hatruri, also known as the Inn of the Good Samaritan (cited in a parable by Jesus, in Luke 10:30-37), and the remains of the Monastery of St. Euthymius built in the 5th century and destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars. Khan al-Ahmar is a 13th century travelers inn for pilgrims on the route between Jerusalem and Mecca via Nabi Musa.

Landmarks

The Moshe Castel Museum showcases the work of Israeli artist Moshe Castel. Mizpe Edna is a lookout at the Shofar and Hallil junction.

References

1. Lazaroff, Tovah (2007-01-10). "Report: 12,400 New Settlers in 2006". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
2. "Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim". Toshav.co.il. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
3. "The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim". Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ). Archived from the original on 2006-01-08. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
4. Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jeruusalem 1999, Carta, p.41 ,ISBN 965-220-423-4 (Hebrew)
5. "Ma'aleh Adumim - History". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6168752.stm "According to the report, 86.4% of the Maale Adumim settlement block, the largest in the West Bank, is built on private Palestinian land"
7. ^ Shragai, Nadav (2007-03-14). "Peace Now: 32% of land held for settlements is private Palestinian property". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-07-06. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
8. http://mondediplo.com/1999/11/08israel "Maaleh Adumim was established on lands taken from Palestinians, from the villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur and Anata. Other lands had been inhabited for dozen of years by the Jahalin and Sawahareh Bedouin tribes."
9. Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem
10. ^ Berg, Raffi (2005-11-12). "Israel's 'Linchpin' Settlement". BBC. Retrieved 2008-10-25. Cite error: The named reference "linchpin" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
11. Dugard, John (2005-03-03). "Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine" (PDF). Report to the Commission on Human Rights. United Nations. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
12. "Sharon Pledges Settlement Growth". BBC. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
13. Benhorin, Yitzhak (2005-03-25). "Rice Slams Israel's Settlements Plans". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
14. Kershner, Isabel (2006-04-17). "Unilateral Thinking - April 2006". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
15. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
16. "The Monastery of Martyrius at Ma'ale Adummim", Yitzhak Magen, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem 1993
17. Rossner, Rena (2004-06-14). "Jerusalem Report Article". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
18. "Tours from Jerusalem". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
19. "Historical Sites". Jericho Municipality. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
20. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. Oxford University Press US. p. 335. ISBN 0199236666.
21. Moshe Castel Museum

External links

• Official municipal website
• Unofficial city website
• Americans for Peace Now report on E-1 and Ma’ale Adumim
• "Sharon pledges settlement growth", BBC
• Bush warns Israel over West Bank, BBC
• Israel plan for new settler homes, BBC
• History of Ma'aleh Adummim
• UrbanIsrael Site: About Ma'ale Adumim: Historical, Social and Cultural Links
• Peace Now’s Blunder: Erred on Ma'ale Adumim Land by 15,900 Percent

v t e Judea and Samaria Area
Cities	Ariel Beitar Illit Ma'ale Adumim Modi'in Illit
Regional committee	Yesha Council
Regional councils	Gush Etzion Har Hevron Mateh Binyamin Megilot Dead Sea Shomron Southern Jordan Valley (Bik'at HaYarden)
Local councils	Alfei Menashe Beit Aryeh-Ofarim Beit El Efrat Elkana Giv'at Ze'ev Har Adar Immanuel Karnei Shomron Kedumim Kiryat Arba Ma'ale Efrayim Oranit
See also	Israeli occupation of the West Bank Enclave law Area C COGAT Israeli Civil Administration IDF Central Command Israeli settlement List Population statistics Seam Zone Jerusalem District

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from July 2010
• Cities in the West Bank
• Mixed Israeli settlements