Giv'at Asaf
Encyclopedia
Giv'at Asaf is an illegal Israeli outpost settlement in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

. Located 3.5 kilometers from Beit El
Beit El
Beit El is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It has about 30 structures and is home to some 30 families. It was established in May 2001 after the murder of Asaf Hershkovitz, a resident of Ofra
Ofra
Ofra is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank in the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is situated on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus , 25 km from Jerusalem and has 3,200 inhabitants ....

, for whom it was named.

According to the 2005 Sason Report
Sasson Report
The Sasson Report is an official Israeli government report published on 8 March 2005 that concluded that Israeli state bodies had been discreetly diverting millions of shekels to build West Bank settlements and outposts that were illegal under Israeli law...

, the outpost was built on privately owned Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 land. Settlements and outposts built on privatly owned Palestinian land are considered illegal not only by international, but also by Israeli law.

A demarcation order was issued in 2004, and renewed in 2006, to establish the boundaries of the outpost, but building beyond it went on despite the order.

In 2004, then Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz
Lt. General Shaul Mofaz is an Israeli politician who serves as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs And Defense Committee at the Knesset...

 issued an order to evacuated illegal outposts, including Giv'at Asaf. In 2006, his successor Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Labour Party, having left those positions in June 2007....

 extended the evacuation order by two years following a petition filed by the settlers, announcing that at the end of that period the settlers would be evacuated by force if needed. In 2008, Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....

 announced that the order would be extended for an additional year, during which the state would attempt to negotiate with the settlers. In May 2009, in response to a petition filed by Peace Now, the Supreme Court issued an order demanding that the state explain within 90 days why the illegal outposts have not yet been evacuated.

In March 2011, in response to another petition by Peace Now, the Israeli government announced its decision to dismantle all illegal outposts built on private Palestinian land by the end of 2011, including Giv'at Asaf. Clashes are expected, as the residents of Giv'at Asaf have vowed "a violent struggle" against their removal. In November 2011, the government asked the Supreme Court to give them an extension for the Giv'at Asaf razing, affirming that it is in talks with the outpost's representatives, and is asking them to clear out by 1 July 2012.
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