Adei Ad

Adei Ad sits on a hill 845 meters above sea level in the Shilo Valley, offering views toward both the Jordan Valley and the Shilo Valley below.[1] It lies near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya and is surrounded by the Palestinian villages of Turmusaya, al-Mughayyir, Jalud, and Qaryut.[1] A 1999 account placed it approximately one mile from Shvut Rachel.[5] The community falls under the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.[2]

Adei Ad was established in spring 1998 in response to the Wye Agreement, part of the Oslo process.[1] The agreement, signed by then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, transferred areas from Area C to Area B and from Area B to Area A, with 10 percent of the West Bank moving to full Palestinian control.[1]

The 2005 Talia Sasson outpost report was cited in 2018 as stating that Adei Ad was built with NIS 2.9 million from the Ministry of Construction and Housing but had never been approved by the Israeli government or Ministry of Defense.[6] Together with the nearby outposts of Ahia, Kida, and Esh Kodesh, it was described as having been established unlawfully, with demolition orders applying to its structures.[1]

In 1999, Adei Ad was reported to house seven families. The same account identified it as one of two large outposts that would remain under a compromise concerning recently established West Bank outposts, though it did not establish the community's later population or the ultimate implementation of that arrangement.[5]

Agriculture shaped Adei Ad's early development. Its founders focused primarily on farming, and the surrounding Shilo Valley contains vineyards and olive groves. A 2018 account also stated that some plots they began cultivating were privately owned by Palestinians, linking the community's agricultural activity to later land disputes.[1]

The question of which land Adei Ad occupies has been disputed across multiple legal and administrative proceedings. A 2019 UN report stated that the outpost was situated partly on private Palestinian land belonging to Turmusaya, Qaryut, al-Mughayyir, and Jalud.[4] Yesh Din's 2014 petition argued that 26 percent of Adei Ad sat on privately owned Palestinian land.[1] By contrast, a 2018 Defense Ministry Blue Line Team survey concluded that the outpost had been established on state land, though Palestinian petitioners objected and those objections had not been resolved at the time of reporting.[7]

In January 2018, Israel's High Court of Justice froze new construction at Adei Ad, gave the government 90 days to determine which parts of the disputed area were privately owned and which were state land, and allowed nine months for retroactive legalization of qualifying sections.[8][1] The court rejected an immediate order to remove disputed residences but allowed the petitioners to refile if the process was not completed.[8] Justice Miriam Naor criticized the state's submissions, saying information needed for decisions had not always been brought before the court and "was not always accurate," which she called unacceptable. The court also noted that previously removed unauthorized structures had been rebuilt.[8]

A 2017 UN Secretary-General report recorded that Israeli authorities had previously declared an intention to legalize Adei Ad, describing the outpost as near Shilo and placing the statement in a discussion of state-land surveys.[9] In August 2018, the Israeli government announced an intention to triple the jurisdiction of the Amihai settlement to include Adei Ad as a means of retroactive authorization.[4] A state plan proposed including Adei Ad within Amihai's jurisdiction, though the communities would not be physically connected because land between them was found to belong to private Palestinian owners.[7] Adei Ad was described as twice Amihai's size, and the proposed change would shift enforcement responsibility from the Civil Administration to the Binyamin Regional Council.[7]

In May 2025, Israel's Security Cabinet approved Adei Ad as one of 22 Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.[2] In December 2025, the Interior Ministry awarded Adei Ad a municipal emblem, a step reported as completing its legalization process; its jurisdictional boundaries had been signed by the IDF Central Command commander the previous month.[3] Israeli recognition under these domestic procedures does not settle the community's status under international law; 2018 reporting stated that the international community considers all settlement activity in the West Bank illegal regardless of Israeli classification.[7]

A UN report covering November 2017 through October 2018 characterized Adei Ad as a center of settler violence in the area. It cited OCHA and Yesh Din documentation of 12 incidents involving violence against Palestinians or property in nearby villages during that period.[4] Yesh Din also documented 28 instances of settlers unofficially taking over land around Adei Ad by fencing plots, preventing access, expelling farmers, or cultivating without the owners' knowledge or consent.[4]

The U.S. Department of State's 2017 human-rights report recorded that on October 22, settlers from Adei Ad stole olives from 200 trees in Jamil Nassan's grove in al-Mughayyer, and said his harvest had been stolen annually for several years.[10] The UN report documented the destruction of 280 olive trees in October 2018 in three areas near Adei Ad that Palestinians could access only after prior coordination with Israeli authorities.[4] In November 2022, Palestinian landowner Said Hussein said 116 olive trees, 40 to 50 years old, had been cut down east of Turmus Ayya and alleged settler responsibility.[11] The IDF said settler youths had been harvesting in coordination with the army, later disturbed Palestinian farmers, and were removed by security personnel.[11]

A January 2019 clash near al-Mughayyir resulted in the death of Palestinian Hamdi Na'asan and serious injury to another Palestinian.[12][13] Palestinians said settlers fatally shot Na'asan; Adei Ad residents said an Amihai hiker had been stabbed in the hand, while the outpost spokesperson said standby-squad members fired into the air after believing their lives were in immediate danger.[12][13] The IDF said initial indications were that an Israeli civilian had been lightly hurt in a physical confrontation, followed by settlers firing live rounds, and announced an investigation.[12][13] The mayor and a relative of Na'asan said authorities had not taken testimony from local Palestinian witnesses at the time of reporting.[12]

During the July 2008 removal of a bus from Adei Ad, a settler took a rifle from a soldier and fired into the air; no injuries were reported in that incident.[14] Homesh First said the civilian had been attacked by stone-throwing Palestinians, took the weapon to drive them away, and then returned it.[14] A follow-up report said police released him after concluding that he had been in real danger.[15]

In August 2015, two of nine people arrested in an operation targeting suspected Jewish militants were arrested at Adei Ad. Authorities linked the arrests to investigations into the July 2015 Duma attacks, but the report described those arrested as suspects and did not establish their guilt.[16] A local council member from al-Mugheir stated that on May 26, 2023, settlers from Adei Ad attacked farmers between Turmus Ayya and al-Mugheir, injuring 40 people and burning five vehicles and 270 bales of hay. The account, attributed to Wafa, also alleged that an Israeli soldier wounded a Palestinian during subsequent clashes.[17]

Hundreds of confrontations were reported over the years between Adei Ad residents and neighboring Palestinians. Yesh Din researcher Ziv Stahel attributed out-migration from nearby villages, particularly among young people, to those confrontations and the reduction of land available for Palestinian agriculture; the reporting presented this as his assessment.[1]