Itamar (Israeli settlement)

Israeli settlement in the West Bank

Itamar is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank's Samarian mountains, five kilometers southeast of the Palestinian city of Nablus. The settlement was built on land confiscated from the Palestinian villages of Awarta, within the municipal jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. Under the terms of the Oslo Accords of 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Itamar was designated Area "C", under provisional Israeli civil and security control, before a transition period after which Area "C" was to be handed back to the Palestinians. In , it had a population of
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. The settlement has several outposts and covers a total area of approximately 7,000 dunams of land. HRW reports an extensive number of violent acts by settlers from Itamar and its outposts against local Palestinians.

Itamar was among the settlements which were designated a "national priority zone" in December 2009, and is entitled to an average of NIS 1,000 per person per year in subsidies in addition to the ordinary settlement subsidies. There are several businesses in the settlement, and many of the residents grow organic crops and raise sheep and goats; larger farms produce a range of further products, such as cheese and olive oil. According to local residents, 80% of Israel's domestically sold organic eggs are produced at Itamar's chicken farm. Other businesses include a yogurt and cheese factory; a small perfume factory; a stained glass workshop; and a hothouses for the vegetables. Itamar also has programs for the learning disabled and the physically disabled.

Itamar's educational system includes kindergarten, elementary school for boys and girls, and several institutions of secondary education and higher learning which attract Israeli students other regional settlements such as Yitzhar. Among them are a Talmud Torah for boys, the Be'er Miriam Talmud Torah for girls, the Hitzim yeshiva high school for boys, co founded by Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith and the Itamar Hesder yeshiva founded by Rabbi Brigadier General Avichai Ronsky, IDF Chief Rabbi from 2006 till 2010. In March 2012, three children and a teacher were killed in the shooting attack at Otzar Hatorah school in Toulouse, France. Three months later, Tamar Fogel, a survivor of the Fogel family massacre, and a group Bnei Akiva youth visited France "to help strengthen the local Jewish communities".

Itamar and its residents have been targeted several times by Palestinians terrorists in the past, three such incidents taking place between May and July 2002, a fourth in August 2004 and another in 2011, which have caused more than a dozen deaths while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), human rights organisations and media report an extensive number of violent acts by Itamar settlers against local Palestinians. According to B'Tselem, "settlers from these settlements have exerted violence against local Palestinians; the Israeli authorities have been delinquent in enforcing the law on the offenders". One of Itamar's founders, Brigadier General Avichai Ronski, in the wake of the Fogel massacre, went on record advocating collective punishment for Palestinian villages when any of their residents are found to be responsible for a murder of a Jew: "A village like this, like Awarta, from which the murderers of the Fogel family and of the Shebo family emerged, must suffer as a village. A situation must be created whereby the inhabitants prevent anyone in this village from harming Jews. Yes, it is collective punishment. They must not be allowed to sleep at night, they must not be allowed to go to work, they must not be allowed to drive their cars. There are many ways."

Yaacov Hayman, a Californian immigrant to Itamar, told an interviewer at the outbreak of Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000: "There comes a time when if you want to have peace you have to make war." In 2002, Palestinian villagers near Itamar claimed they were not involved in attacks, and asked why they should be punished for them. Yaacov Hayman also denied settlers killed anyone, but stated that local Palestinians must not be allowed to work near their settlement: "If they can't live like human beings, they won't pick olives here. They'll starve here. I don't care. They won't be here to butcher us." The IDF prohibit Palestinian farmers from working at their fields close to the settlement, but are required to protect them during the olive harvest. However, residents of Itamar and its outposts have been reported harassing local Palestinians, damaging their property and obstructing their access to land, particularly during the olive harvest. They have reportedly stolen olives, prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching their land, even when accompanied by international activists, shot at farmers picking their olives, or grazing their animals. It is alleged that they have set fire to hundreds of olive trees and thousands of dunam of cultivated land belonging to local Palestinians. The small village of Yanun, which is flanked by the settlement's outposts, particularly suffered from constant harassment, which caused the villagers to abandon their village in October 2002 and move to the larger nearby village of Aqraba. In some cases, the violence has resulted in death. 26 October 1998 – Muhammad Suliman Az Zalmut, a 70 year old Palestinian farmer, was bludgeoned to death with a 20 pound rock in an unprovoked attack by Gur Hamel, a 26 year old Itamar settler and yeshiva student who was under an expulsion order from the IDF after being involved in several violent incidents with Palestinian farmers. He encountered Zalout while walking to Givot Olam. 7 October 2001 An Itamar settler went to the Palestinian orchards of Aqraba and opened fire at farmers, killing one Palestinian and moderately wounding two others. 17 October 2001 – Farid Musa Issa Nasasrah from Beit Furik was murdered, and three other Palestinians villagers wounded, near Itamar by settlers. Two Itamar residents, Yaron Degani and Gad Tena, subsequently arrested on suspicion for the shooting, were released for insufficient evidence after five days. 6 October 2002 – during the olive harvesting, Hani Bani Maniya, together with his cousin Fouad, from Aqraba was shot by settlers after running to the assistance of Fadi Beni Jabar who had been shot in the hand. Maniya died of gunshot wounds shortly afterwards, outside of Nablus where the ambulance had been stopped at an Israeli roadblock. IDF officers said off the record that a group of settlers had been intentionally attacking Palestinians during their olive harvest. Palestinian sources said 10 armed settlers from nearby Gidonim and Itamar were involved. 27 September 2004 – Itamar resident Yehoshua Elitzur shot and killed Sael A Shatiya (Sa'il Mustafa Ahmad Jabarah), a Palestinian taxi driver from Salem, reportedly when the latter slowed his car to ask whether Elitzur needed assistance near the Itamar junction. Police initially concluded the shooting was in self defence. Elitzur was convicted of manslaughter, was released to house arrest, did not show up in court for sentencing and disappeared. He was eventually arrested by Interpol in San Paolo on 18 July 2015, and after a long legal battle, extradited to Israel where in May 2018 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and ordered to pay compensation to his victim's family of 200,000 shekels ($55,500). The story has been told in a 2019 documentary, "Chasing Yehoshua", produced by Shay Fogelman. 20 March 2010 – two Awarta teenagers, the cousins Salah Qawariq, 18, and Muhammad Qawariq, 19, were shot dead, while on their way to their farmland, in unclear circumstances, a day after two others from nearby villages had been shot dead during a confrontation with the Israeli army. The IDF said it was responsible, while Palestinian sources claimed Itamar settlers had attacked the boys, or that their deaths had been caused by a settler militia from Itamar. An IDF spokeswoman initially replied that the two had tried to stab a soldier on patrol. In a later version, the IDF took full responsibility, announcing that the deaths were unnecessary and could have been avoided. Autopsies indicated they had been shot at close range, with some of the bullet trajectories suggesting they had been killed while seated or kneeling. Lixenberg was shot and killed in a roadside ambush between Har Bracha and Itamar while returning home from work on 27 August 2001. Zagron was killed by a suicide bomber on 27 October 2002 in Ariel along with two other Israelis. His body was later found in an open field. Rabbi Binyamin Herling (64), a Holocaust survivor, was killed near Itamar on 19 October 2000 when Fatah and Palestinian security forces opened fire on a group of men, women, and children. Less than a month later, two Palestinians broke into the home of the Shabo family and opened fire, killing Rachel Shabo (40) and three of her children, Neria (15), Zvika (12), and Avishai (5). Two other children, Asahel (10) and Avia (13), were shot and severely wounded. Yosef Twito (31), father of five, who served as commander of the neighborhood preparedness team, was also shot to death in the attack, as he approached the family's home to help. Another eight Israelis were injured when soldiers stormed the house to rescue trapped civilians. Ambulances carrying the wounded were delayed by roadblocks and pelted with stones. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack. Twitos successor, Shlomo Miller (50), was killed in August 2004 by a Palestinian identified as a member of the preventive security forces of the Palestinian Authority. In July 2002, an armed Palestinian broke into the home of David (44) and Orna Mimran (40), stabbing both of them. He also stabbed the empty beds of their eight children, who were away visiting their grandparents. They fought back and survived the attack, and an army officer killed the attacker. David Mimran suffered sixteen stab wounds. In an attack in March 2011 five members of the Fogel family were stabbed to death in their sleep: Udi Fogel (36), Ruth Fogel (35), and their children Yoav (11), Elad (4), and Hadas (3 months). According to multiple sources, the infant was decapitated. The bodies were found by Udi and Ruth's twelve year old daughter, Tamar. Two young Palestinian men, Amjad Awad and Hakim Awad, from the village of Awarta were arrested in April and proudly confessed to the murder, reenacted it before the security officials, and expressed no remorse. They were both convicted of five counts of murder and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences. They were also convicted for weapons related and other security offenses. The attack has been called a massacre by various reports. In February 2012, more than 1,000 members of the Likud party visited Itamar and planted 1,500 trees in memory of the victims of the Fogel family massacre as part of annual Tu Bishvat festivities throughout Israel. Palestinian newspapers spread the unsubstantiated claim that the massacres were carried out by a disgruntled Thai worker. Dozens of women and children from Itamar protested in October 2011 when Palestinians from Awarta were allowed to harvest olives within their security zone, as they said they were not informed prior and relatives of the murderers of the Fogel family were among the harvesters. According to the Shomron Residents Committee, Palestinian harvesters allegedly taunted the surviving Fogel children, threw rocks at Itamar residents, yelling "We'll Fogel you" and other threats. Tamar Fogel joined the protestors. Violence against Israeli shepherds has also been reported. In April 2012, a skirmish took place between several Itamar settlers and Palestinians on Hill 777, a nearby outpost. Both sides reported injuries and stated that the other had initiated a confrontation. According to the Israeli account, a group of Palestinians threw rocks at them and beat them with clubs. They reported that two were injured, including Matan Fogel, the younger brother of Udi Fogel. The Palestinians stated that they were attacked first and that three were injured.

In March 2012, Attorney Doron Nir Tzvi, legal advisor for the Committee of Samaria Residents, filed a complaint against Haaretz reporter Neri Livneh for describing the town as "especially aggressive" and claiming that "every two years a murderer comes out of there" in a television appearance. According to the suit, Livneh slandered two Itamar residents by calling them murderers. In November of the same year, the court ruled in Itamar's favor and ordered Livneh to pay 200,000 shekels (50,000 dollars) in addition to attorney and court costs. This ruling was reportedly reached after Livneh "failed to file a defense statement in time and had not requested an extension to do so".

In late 2012, Avri Ran took over a hill, Mitzpeh Shloshet Hayamim, which fellow Itamar residents had planned to turn into a tourist site for its views, and then bulldozed a rockery in order to make building extensions to his farming business. Itamar residents and its outpost settlers on Hill777, themselves reportedly illegal squatters who had hitherto never expressed any criticisms when Ran took over Palestinian land, raised a complaint to the Samaria Regional Council to intervene and stop him, on the grounds that he has no title to that tract. Their letter of complaint remarked that,’ "We’re all full of admiration for Avri for his steps to conquer [land] in Samaria. But those exact same deeds are being committed today against his Jewish neighbors.' The hill is outside the boundaries of the Samaria Regional Council however, and, according to Haaretz, the Israeli Civil Administration has not applied the law to Itamar’s hilltops for a decade and a half."