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Psagot
Country	Israel
Council	Mateh Binyamin
Region	West Bank
Affiliation	Amana
Founded	1981
Founded by	Beit VeGan residents
Population	1,623

Psagot (Template:Lang-he-n, lit. Peaks) is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank located north of Jerusalem on Tawil hill adjacent to Ramallah, al-Bireh, and Kokhav Ya'akov. Psagot, established in 1981, falls under the jurisdiction of Binyamin Regional Council, with the council's headquarters located there. In 2008 it had a population of 1,623.

Etymology

The name Psagot was proposed by one of the early residents, Moshe Ben Asher, a professor and head of The Academy of the Hebrew Language. It expresses the hope that the new village will achieve a peak in settlement and study of the Torah.The name also refers to the location of Psagot on the peak of Mount Tawil.

History

Before 1967, Jabel Tawil was known to locals as "Kuwaiti hill" because of numerous visitors from the Persian Gulf who hiked in the area. In 1964, some of the land was purchased by the Jerusalem municipality for a future tourist resort. In the Six-Day War, it came under Israeli control. From September 1976, Arabs were prohibited from building in the area.

In 1981, Ariel Sharon, then Israeli Minister of Defense, told Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, that he would support initiatives to settle the area. In July 1981, Wallerstein moved the council headquarters to the hill, then occupied by a military intelligence base. Five families from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit VeGan took up residence there. A year later, they were joined by a group from the Kerem B'Yavneh yeshiva.

Arab-Israeli conflict

As soon as the first families ascended the hill and took up residence, the Supreme Court of Israel froze further activity when an Arab family made what would turn out to be a false claim to the land. Such false claims were common weapons used to stop or create setbacks and delays in the communities. As a result, the families were forced to handle the severe winter by themselves and the six families from Kerem B'Yavneh were forced to wait in Ofra until the end of the legal proceedings several months later. The men from the yeshiva would nonetheless come to Psagot to study in the kollel during the day and return to Ofra in the evening. In the spring of 1982, the supreme court dismissed the claim and this paved the way for a rapid expansion including an immediate fifteen trailer homes with the help of Uri Bar-On and another 48 housing starts approved by the Minister of Housing and Construction David Levy.

Israeli settlements, including Psagot, have been a major element of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the subject of international criticism. According to B'Tselem, Jewish settlements in the Ramallah area, such as Beit El and Psagot, prevented the expansion of the city and cut it off from the surrounding villages. Psagot and its residents have been involved in exchanges of one- and two-way gunfire with Palestinians living in Ramallah, and the settlement was used by the Israeli army in 2001 to fire two missiles into the city during the failed Marwan Barghouti assassination.

In November 2009, the Psagot settlement and the advocacy group Regavim petitioned the High Court of Justice in an unsuccessful attempt to stop construction of the Al-Bireh International Stadium, citing security concerns.

Economy

The Psagot winery was founded by Na’ama and Yaakov Berg, who planted vineyards in 1998. In addition to a modern barrel cellar, some of the oak barriques are stored in a cave dating back to the Second Temple. The winery’s top wine is a Bordeaux blend named Edom. Regular varietal wines are produced in the Psagot series and there is also a Port-style wine. In 2007 and 2008, the winery produced 65,000 bottles annually. In 2010 the winery produces 80,000 bottles of wine a year, majority of which was for export. Palestinians and settlers work there side by side, creating an island of co-existence in sea of mistrust. Other wineries exist around Psagot, and the Yesha Council hopes to make them a tourist attraction. According to the local Palestinians and the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, the wineries are partially planted on a privately owned Palestinian land.

References

1. ^ HaReuveni, Immanuel (1999). Lexicon of the Land of Israel. Miskal – Yedioth Ahronoth Books. p. 795. ISBN 965-448-413-7.
2. "Locality File" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
3. ^ Hoberman, Haggai (2008). Keneged Kol HaSikuim (in Hebrew) (1st ed.). Sifriat Netzarim page = 196-7. {{cite book}}: Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
4. ^ Hilal, Sandi (Spring 2009). "The Future Archaeology of Israel's Colonisation". Afterall Journal (20). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
5. Arab Women's Information Committee (1 January 1977). The Arabs Under Israeli Occupation, 1980. Inst for Palestine Studies. p. 67. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
6. Brightonpalestinecampaign.org
7. Whitaker, Brian (3 September 2001). "The summit of Middle East tension". Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
8. Hass, Amira (27 November 2009). "Settlers petition to tear down nearby Palestinian stadium". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
9. Psagot Winery at Rogov's Reviews
10. Peace with a paycheck, YNET, by Akiva Novick, 08.25.10
11. Settler vineyards take root in West Bank BBC. 17 June 2009

• Use dmy dates from September 2010
• Israeli settlements
• Populated places established in 1981