Karnei Shomron (Hebrew: קַרְנֵי שׁוֹמְרוֹן, lit. "Rays (of light) of Samaria") is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council established in 1977 in the West Bank, east of Kfar Saba. Karnei Shomron is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) northeast of Tel Aviv and 85 kilometres (53 mi) north of Jerusalem. In 2022 it had a population of 9,920.
Karnei Shomron
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Hebrew transcription(s) | |
• ISO 259 | Qarnei Šomron |
• Also spelled | Qarne Shomron (official) |
Karnei Shomron | |
Coordinates: 32°10′17.75″N 35°5′51.72″E / 32.1715972°N 35.0977000°E | |
Region | West Bank |
District | Judea and Samaria Area |
Founded | 1977 |
Government | |
• Head of Municipality | Yigal Lahav |
Area | |
• Total | 7,179 dunams (7.179 km2 or 2.772 sq mi) |
Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 9,920 |
• Density | 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) |
Website | www.karneishomron.co.il |
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from four nearby Palestinian villages of in order to construct Karnei Shomron:
In 1991, several Israeli settlements were merged to become a single municipality called Karnei Shomron Local Council:
The town borders Wadi Qana, a wadi marking the border between lands that are believed to have been the territory of the tribes of Efraim and Menashe in biblical times.[7] The Nahal Kana Wadi is administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and is defined as a Nature Reserve.[8]
Mitzpe Tzvaim; Midreshet Shilat, a midrasha for girls;[citation needed] and Ramat Gil'ad are also part of Karnei Shomron. Neve Aliza is a religious neighborhood of American-style homes founded by new immigrants from the United States and Canada in 1985.[citation needed]
The chief rabbi of Karnei Shomron is Yitzhak HaLevy.[citation needed] Igal Lahav is the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council.[9]
During the second intifada, on 16 February 2002, two people were killed and 30 people were wounded, six seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a pizzeria in the Karnei Shomron (located in Ginot Shomron) shopping mall. Rachel Thaler, 16 died of her wounds on 27 February. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.[citation needed]