Carmel (Israeli Settlement)

Carmel is situated in the Southern Hebron Mountains.[1] Like other Israeli settlements, it is in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel retains full civil and security control.[5] An Israeli government document identifies Carmel by settlement code 3656 and lists it as a cooperative moshav under the Har Hebron Regional Council, among the country's planned agricultural settlements.[3] The community lies a few hundred meters from the Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair.[6]

Carmel was founded in 1981.[2][1] In January 2016, a plan to replace temporary housing in Carmel with 28 permanent homes was reported to have received approval, although broader approvals announced at the time lacked official confirmation.[7]

On June 26, 2023, the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration advanced 42 housing units in Carmel to the "granting of validity" stage, described as the final stage of planning approval. The decision was part of the advancement of 530 housing units across communities in the Hebron Hills.[4]

Selected population figures document Carmel's long-term growth. Encyclopedia.com recorded 319 inhabitants at the end of 2004.[1] The Jewish Virtual Library lists 252 residents in 1999, 379 in 2009, 511 in 2020, 526 in 2021, 543 in 2022, 613 in 2023, 663 in 2024, and 693 in 2025.[2]

Carmel's formal classification as a cooperative moshav and planned agricultural settlement reflects its organized rural character.[3] It is also described as a religious moshav.[6] Carmel is connected to full infrastructure, while nearby Umm al-Khair relies on partial and limited water and electricity solutions.[6]

On December 7, 2022, rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Carmel. The driver was injured by flying glass, and the vehicle was damaged.[8] The report attributed the information about the incident to Magen David Adom.[8]

Carmel's proximity to Umm al-Khair has generated recurring local disputes. Residents of Umm al-Khair said a fence erected near Carmel blocked the children's usual route to school. The Hebron Hills Regional Council said the barrier was a defensive measure following attempted infiltrations and that alternative routes remained available.[9] The Israel Defense Forces said Carmel officials had installed the barrier within the community's municipal boundaries and that students had an alternative route that did not require passing through Carmel.[9] In a video, council head Eliram Azulay drove an alternative route from the school to the hamlet; a displayed timer showed a journey of one minute and ten seconds.[9]

On the night of August 26–27, 2025, a group of Carmel residents placed four structures at the site where Odeh al-Hathaleen had been shot and killed the previous month. The Hebron Hills Regional Council described the work as an expansion of Carmel within the settlement's boundaries, on state land and in coordination with military authorities. Peace Now characterized it as an illegal outpost between village homes and alleged that its purpose was to displace Umm al-Khair's residents.[10] These were competing attributed accounts of the construction's status and purpose.

In October 2025, a separate dispute arose over seven prefabricated homes placed on the outskirts of Carmel, a few meters from Umm al-Khair. Peace Now petitioned for their evacuation, arguing that they lacked authorization and violated zoning designations. The Jerusalem District Court issued a temporary injunction barring occupancy and further road work, while footage appeared to show settlers taking up residence despite the order.[11] A later report said caravans had been placed outside Carmel's fence and a neighborhood had developed there. Carmel residents said it lay within the settlement's recognized boundary, but the report presented that as their claim rather than an independently established fact.[12]

The legal status of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is contested. Israel's position is that the West Bank constitutes disputed rather than occupied territory and that civilian settlements there do not violate international law, in part because Israeli citizens were not deported or forcibly transferred into the areas.[5] Much of the international community takes a different view. UN Security Council Resolution 2334 characterized settlements established in territory held since 1967 as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace.[13] As of 2026, more than half a million Israeli citizens live in West Bank settlements overall.[13]

Within Israel's legal system, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ruled 8–1 on June 9, 2020, that the 2017 Law on the Regulation of Settlement in Judea and Samaria was unconstitutional. The court held that the law, which was intended to grant land-use and possession rights for settlements built in good faith or with state consent, failed the proportionality requirement under Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Supreme Court President Esther Hayut wrote: "Even the most expansive interpretation of the term 'public need' does not allow a de facto expropriation of real estate intended to benefit a particular and known population group – Israeli settlers in the area – by way of the government forcibly taking from another population group – the Palestinian residents."[14] The ruling addressed the law generally; the cited source does not establish that it concerned Carmel specifically.