Hilltop 26
Encyclopedia
Hilltop, outpost or lot 26 was an Israeli outpost founded by Netanel Ozeri. It was founded near the city of Hebron
in the Judean Hills of the West Bank
. It lay approximately 100 metres from the Kiryat Arba
settlement. At the time of its destruction, it had a population
of around ten.
The settlement was dismantled on 24 March 2003 by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). The settlement had been created without a permit, and was therefore unauthorized under Israeli law. The settlement was the first to be destroyed during Ariel Sharon
's second term of office.
. One of the gunmen was subsequently killed by other Israelis present, while the second gunman was tracked and killed later by the IDF. Ozeri belonged to the banned Jewish religious and nationalist Kach movement.
During Ozeri's funeral, hundreds of settlers went into Hebron, smashing windows and setting cars alight.
Netanel (Nati) Ozeri, born in Jerusalem, was a student at the Yeshivat HaRaayon HaYehudi established by Rabbi Meir Kahane, and was a study partner of his son, Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
, who was killed in a terrorist attack in December 2000. Ozeri later went on to teach at the yeshiva in Jerusalem as well as in Kiryat Arba.
Ozeri was a leader of the Hebron community in terms of both settlement and Torah study/teaching. His close friend, Noam Federman
, said Netanel was "an interesting and unusual combination, the type of person who stood out as a leader. He was a man of Torah and a man of action." Federman noted that Netanel not only established new settlement outposts and interested youths in settling there, he also made sure to teach them Torah on a regular schedule. He himself moved with his family several years ago from Kiryat Arba to the nearby Hilltop 26, where he engaged in organic farming.
After a long burial procession, Netanal Ozeri was buried in the old Jewish cemetery in Hebron. During the procession, settlers went against Jewish custom by exposing his face. They marched with his body throughout the southern West Bank, attempting to bury it on various hilltops in order to establish a Jewish presence there. The incident appears in Dan Setton's documentary Israel's Next War
.
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
in the Judean Hills of 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...
. It lay approximately 100 metres from the Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba , lit. "Town of the Four," is an Israeli settlement in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank on the edge of Hebron. Its settlers consist of a mix of Russian immigrants, American immigrants, and native-born Israelis numbering close to 10,000...
settlement. At the time of its destruction, it had a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of around ten.
The settlement was dismantled on 24 March 2003 by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). The settlement had been created without a permit, and was therefore unauthorized under Israeli law. The settlement was the first to be destroyed during Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
's second term of office.
Netanel Ozeri
The settlement made headlines following the death of Netanel Ozeri on 17 January 2003. Ozeri was killed in the evening by two Palestinian gunmen from HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. One of the gunmen was subsequently killed by other Israelis present, while the second gunman was tracked and killed later by the IDF. Ozeri belonged to the banned Jewish religious and nationalist Kach movement.
During Ozeri's funeral, hundreds of settlers went into Hebron, smashing windows and setting cars alight.
Netanel (Nati) Ozeri, born in Jerusalem, was a student at the Yeshivat HaRaayon HaYehudi established by Rabbi Meir Kahane, and was a study partner of his son, Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane was a rabbi and the son of Rabbi Meir Kahane.Born in New York City, he emigrated to Israel with his family at the age of four, in 1971...
, who was killed in a terrorist attack in December 2000. Ozeri later went on to teach at the yeshiva in Jerusalem as well as in Kiryat Arba.
Ozeri was a leader of the Hebron community in terms of both settlement and Torah study/teaching. His close friend, Noam Federman
Noam Federman
Noam Federman is a religious right-wing Israeli Jew in Hebron and a former leader of the Kach Party which he has been involved with since he was 14. He has been held in administrative detention several times. Federman hosts a weekly Internet program called "Federman Without Censor"...
, said Netanel was "an interesting and unusual combination, the type of person who stood out as a leader. He was a man of Torah and a man of action." Federman noted that Netanel not only established new settlement outposts and interested youths in settling there, he also made sure to teach them Torah on a regular schedule. He himself moved with his family several years ago from Kiryat Arba to the nearby Hilltop 26, where he engaged in organic farming.
After a long burial procession, Netanal Ozeri was buried in the old Jewish cemetery in Hebron. During the procession, settlers went against Jewish custom by exposing his face. They marched with his body throughout the southern West Bank, attempting to bury it on various hilltops in order to establish a Jewish presence there. The incident appears in Dan Setton's documentary Israel's Next War
Israel's Next War
"Israel's Next War" is an episode of the PBS series Frontline that aired on 5 April 2005. The episode, by Israeli director Dan Setton, investigated the rise of the religious right in Israel and the role it could play as a "spoiler" in peace negotiations with the Palestinians...
.
External links
- March 24 statement - IDF statement on the end of the settlement