Pnei Kedem | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Pnei Kedem | |
| Coordinates:31°35′18″N35°11′45″E / 31.58833°N 35.19583°E /31.58833; 35.19583 | |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Council | Gush Etzion |
| Region | West Bank |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founded by | Amana |
| Population (2011) | 70 families[1] |
| Website | http://www.pneikedem.org/ |
Pnei Kedem (Hebrew:פְּנֵי קֶדֶם) is anIsraeli outpost in theWest Bank. It is located next to thePalestinian city ofSi'ir and is formally connected to theIsraeli settlement ofMetzad, in the southeastern part of theGush Etzion settlement bloc, in the easternJudean Mountains facingNahal Arugot (Arugot Stream). Pnei Kedem stands at anelevation of 930 metresabove sea level, 14.5 km east of theGreen Line, on the Palestinian side of theSeparation Barrier.
The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,illegal under international law. Outposts like Pnei Kedekm, on the other hand, are considered illegal even under Israeli law.[2]
The outpost was built in October 2000 with assistance fromAmana within the boundaries of the nearbyIsraeli settlement ofMetzad and on adjacent lands. In 2003, Pnei Kedem was given the status of a permanent township without being legalized, receiving lighting and other services from the Israeli Defense Ministry, despite the Israeli government's pledge in theRoad Map to remove illegal outposts.[3]
Pnei Kedem holds an annual kite festival duringChol HaMoedSukkot which attracts thousands of participants.
In November 2007,Haaretz reported that a settler of Pnei Kedem complained that he had 500 olive tree saplings uprooted by Palestinians.[4]
As reported byThe Jerusalem Post in 2008, settlers from Pnei Kedem receive "counterterrorism training" from the organizationMishmeret Yesha in "how to quickly neutralize terrorist infiltrators".[5] In September 2011, before thePalestinian Authority's statehood bid at the United Nations,Arutz Sheva published photographs of women from Pnei Kedem being trained with firearms and live ammunition.[6][7][8]
The population of Pnei Kedem receives its municipal services from theGush Etzion Regional Council, which lists it on its official website as a separate community. But as Israeli authorities do not recognize the outpost as an independent settlement, theIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics counts its residents as living in Metzad. According toArutz Sheva, Pnei Kedem was home to 32 families in 2011 and absorbing new residents.[9]
Authority control databases: National |
|---|
