Mitzpe Shalem
Encyclopedia
Mitzpe Shalem is an Israeli settlement
and kibbutz
located about 1 km from the western shores of the Dead Sea
in the eastern West Bank
. It is the southernmost community in the Megilot Regional Council
and is located near Highway 90 about 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of Ein Gedi
and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the Green Line.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
on land in the West Bank
that Israel occupied after the 1967 Six-Day War
. It was inhabited as a kibbutz in the Ihud HaKvutzot VeHaKibbutzim in 1976.
Today it is a "renewed kibbutz" having undergone privatization and is considered a cooperative community, thus no longer belonging to the Kibbutz Movement
. It was named after Natan Shalem who investigated the Judean Desert
, where the kibbutz is located. As of 2007, the population is about 200 people, of which 59 are official members. Approximately 90 percent of the population, aging from infancy to 50, speaks English.
, Mitzpe Shalem is considered illegal under international law, though Israeli disputes this. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention
's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. Israeli government counters this by contending that the Fourth Geneva Convention does not apply to the Palestinian territories because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state. This view has been rejected on the basis of an interpretation of rulings by the International Court of Justice
and the International Committee of the Red Cross
, on Israel's West Bank barrier, though the rulings do not actually comment on any settlements themselves.
Ahava
manufactures cosmetics based on minerals from the Dead Sea. A factory for refining these chemicals is located in the kibbutz.
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
and kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
located about 1 km from the western shores of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
in the eastern 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 is the southernmost community in the Megilot Regional Council
Megilot Regional Council
Megilot Regional Council , also Megilot Dead Sea Regional Council, is a regional council in the Judean desert near the western shores of the Dead Sea. With only and 1,000 residents, it is Israel's smallest regional council. Its municipal offices are located in Vered Yeriho.-Etymology:The name...
and is located near Highway 90 about 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi is an oasis in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the caves of Qumran.-Etymology:The name En-gedi is composed of two Hebrew words: ein means spring and gdi means goat-kid. En Gedi thus means "Kid spring."...
and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the Green Line.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
International law and Israeli settlements
The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
The community was founded in 1970 as a Nahal settlementNahal settlement
Nahal settlements were settlements established by Nahal soldiers in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories. Supporting Jewish settlement growth and expansion throughout Israel was once the main focus of the Nahal military brigade. The goal for every Nahal settlement was to become a civilian...
on land 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...
that Israel occupied after the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
. It was inhabited as a kibbutz in the Ihud HaKvutzot VeHaKibbutzim in 1976.
Today it is a "renewed kibbutz" having undergone privatization and is considered a cooperative community, thus no longer belonging to the Kibbutz Movement
Kibbutz Movement
The Kibbutz Movement is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi.-United Kibbutz Movement:...
. It was named after Natan Shalem who investigated the Judean Desert
Judean desert
The Judaean Desert is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan...
, where the kibbutz is located. As of 2007, the population is about 200 people, of which 59 are official members. Approximately 90 percent of the population, aging from infancy to 50, speaks English.
Status under international law
Like all Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territoriesIsraeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
, Mitzpe Shalem is considered illegal under international law, though Israeli disputes this. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention
Fourth Geneva Convention
The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians...
's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. Israeli government counters this by contending that the Fourth Geneva Convention does not apply to the Palestinian territories because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state. This view has been rejected on the basis of an interpretation of rulings by the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
and the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, on Israel's West Bank barrier, though the rulings do not actually comment on any settlements themselves.
Economy
The economy of the kibbutz depends on agriculture, tourism and industry. In agriculture, the kibbutz has an orchard of palm trees with an area of about 400 dunams and a coop for raising turkeys. Tourism includes the Mineral Beach of the Dead Sea, with its sulfur-enhanced baths, and an organized swimming beach, and a motel named for the nearby Deragot Cliffs. Industry is derived from the manufacture of Ahava Skin Care products in the local company's laboratories.Ahava
Ahava (company)
Ahava is an Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures skin care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea. The company's administrative headquarters are located in Holon but the main manufacturing plant and showroom are in Mitzpe Shalem, an Israeli settlement located on...
manufactures cosmetics based on minerals from the Dead Sea. A factory for refining these chemicals is located in the kibbutz.
External links
- Mitzpe Shalem page at Jewish Agency for IsraelJewish Agency for IsraelThe Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
website