Efrat

Ephrath ( but usually Efrat, Hebrew אפרת or אפרתה ) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is located south of Jerusalem on several hills, all carrying their own name, just east of Highway 60, which connects the Palestinian villages in the West Bank. Efrat is in the area of the Gush Etzion settlement block, but is an independent municipality. The settlement was founded in 1980 and is named after the Biblical Ephrath, the second name for the nearby Bethlehem ( Genesis 35:19; Micah 5:1). Counted in late 2010 Ephratah 7454 inhabitants, 1994, the settlement 4650 inhabitants.

The EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described the Israeli settlements in the territories occupied since 1967 as illegal under international law, Israel disputes this, however.

According to a report by the Israeli organization Shalom Achschaw are 29,34 % of the land on which the town was built on Palestinian private property. According to Israeli law allowed on land that is located in the Palestinian private property, not to be built. The report has been criticized by the pro-Israel U.S. lobby organization, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA ), which considers both the sources as well as the results questionable.

In December 2011 it was announced that the Department of Defense has approved the construction of a new hamlet outside the present built-up area Efrat. After completion of the new building complex on the northern edge of Efrat in Givat Hadagan, a few hundred meters from the Dheisheh refugee camp removed for the 40 single-family homes are provided, which are intended to replace a previously planned development, the Israeli settlements in the northern Gush Etzion block directly south of Bethlehem outer districts adjacent. In addition, approved the establishment of a 1700 dunam farm in Givat Eitam that would ensure a future expansion of Efrat with 2,500 planned new housing units. Shortly before the construction of new dwellings were approved in Efrat on another hill.