Kfar HaOranim

Kfar HaOranim 31°55′9″N 35°2′18″E / 31.91917°N 35.03833°E / 31.91917; 35.03833
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Council	Mateh Binyamin
Region	West Bank
Founded	1997
Founded by	Amana
Population  (2022)[1]	2,604

Kfar HaOranim (Hebrew: כְּפָר הָאֳרָנִים, lit. 'Village of the Pines'), also known as Menora (Hebrew: מְנוֹרָה) or Giv'at Ehud, is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Contiguous with Lapid and located near to the major city of Modi'in, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 2,604.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[2]

History

Planning for the settlement (then named Giv'at Ehud, after Ehud Ben-Amitai, a fighter pilot killed in a training accident) began in 1981. The cornerstone was laid in 1984 at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, by which time the name had changed to Menora. However, legal issues over the ownership of the land led to a delay in construction. The first residents finally moved in during October 1997.^{[citation needed]}

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated 682 dunams of land from the Palestinian village of Saffa for the construction of Menora/Kfar HaOranim.^[3]

Archeology

On a hill in the heart of the settlement archeological finds were discovered dating back to the Bar Kokhba Revolt.^[4] A hiding complex was uncovered as well as a mikveh just north of the hiding complex, along with coins from that period. Furthermore a bath house from the Roman period was uncovered and preserved. About a kilometer south of these findings, the remains of an agricultural farm and wine cellar were discovered, dating back to the Byzantine period.

References

MoshavimCommunity settlementsIndustrial zonesOutposts