Ma'ale Shomron

Ma'ale Shomron developed as a rural community in Samaria before becoming part of the Karnei Shomron Local Council in 2020.[4][5] A 2024 municipal document identifies Ma'ale Shomron as one of Karnei Shomron’s seven neighborhoods and as a former locality, while a 2021 account describes it as Karnei Shomron’s western neighbor.[1][6]

Regional settlement-bloc classifications have included Ma'ale Shomron within both an Ariel bloc and a smaller grouping designated “North of Ariel.”[7][8] The latter grouping comprised five settlements with a combined listed population of 11,621 in a 2011 report.[8] At that time, completed sections of the separation barrier ran north and west of Karnei Shomron and Ma'ale Shomron, and east of Immanuel.[8]

Ma'ale Shomron was established in 1980.[3] In January of that year, the planned settlement was being referred to as Karnei Shomron B, near the existing Karnei Shomron A settlement.[9] The proposed site was a hilltop approximately eight kilometres east of Kalkilya, between Jinsafut and Azzun.[9] Herut’s Betar movement was to establish the community, and ground clearing had already continued for more than two months by January 24.[9]

The first group, described at the time as between 20 and 80 families, was expected to move to the site on February 1, 1980.[9] Prospective residents wanted to name the settlement “Ma'aleh Hashomron,” but the government naming committee objected because “Shomron” already appeared in the names Karnei Shomron and Shavei Shomron.[9] The committee initially insisted that another name be found.[9] A later population table recorded the community’s affiliation as Herut and its representation in the Shomron Regional Council.[5]

Land dealer Moshe Zar, whose land-dealing activity began in 1979, helped pave the way for the establishment of Ma'ale Shomron and other Jewish communities in Samaria, including Immanuel, Karnei Shomron, and Barkan.[10]

In 2020, Ma'ale Shomron was removed from the Samaria Regional Council list and attached to the Karnei Shomron Local Council.[4] By 2024, it was identified as one of that council’s seven neighborhoods and described as a former separate locality.[1]

Several security incidents were reported near the community rather than within it.[11][12] On March 1, 2006, an Israeli man was shot and seriously wounded near Nabi Elias, not far from Ma'ale Shomron; the initial investigation indicated that shots came from a passing commercial vehicle while the man was apparently near shops on Route 55.[11] In 2013, an Israeli citizen was lightly injured by a rock near Ma'ale Shomron.[12] Subsequent protests involved clashes among protesters, security forces, and residents of nearby Azoun, and three protesters were arrested.[12] Route 55 toward Karnei Shomron had also recently been targeted by stone throwers.[12]

The population grew from 188 in 1983 to 390 in 1995.[3] Later figures record 486 residents in 1999 and 549 as of December 31, 2004.[2][5] A separate settlement-bloc table gives an approximate population of 533 for 2005.[7]

The official post-census locality table for 2008 lists 709 residents and identifies Ma'ale Shomeron by locality code 3637.[13] A settlement population series records 789 residents in 2009.[2] The 2011 North of Ariel bloc table instead lists 582, using smaller-community figures drawn from either 2007 or 2008 without specifying which year applied to Ma'ale Shomron.[8]

The official population figure for 2019 was 996, while the settlement population series gives 980 for 2020.[4][2] That series marks 2021 as “No Data” and leaves subsequent entries blank, with a note recording the 2020 merger with Karnei Shomron.[2]

A statistical recalculation reflecting the municipal merger gives a combined 2019 population of 9,130 for Karnei Shomron together with Ma'ale Shomron.[4] This is a combined figure for 2019 under the revised municipal arrangement, not a population count taken after the merger.[4]

Ma'ale Shomron’s built environment includes detached houses and a small internal industrial area.[1] In 2024, approximately 50 housing units were under construction in its western part.[1] The same planning document referred to 100 units of semi-dense construction and estimated that the new project would bring the neighborhood to approximately 400 housing units.[1]

A separate proposed ultra-Orthodox city, Dorot Illit, was discussed in 2019 for an area between Elkana and Ma'ale Shomron.[14] Approximately 200 dunams near Ma'ale Shomron had reportedly been purchased, with an option to acquire roughly 600 more, and proponents sought inclusion in a planning proposal with access from Routes 55 and 5.[14] No current government decision to establish that city had been made at the time; the proposal concerned a separate project rather than an expansion identified as Ma'ale Shomron itself.[14]

Visitors on a 2016 tour of Ma'ale Shomron were shown remains that tour organizer Harow identified as an ancient Jewish trading post and wine-storage facility from the First and Second Temple periods.[15] The identification and dating were presented as the organizer’s interpretation of the remains.[15]

Ma'ale Shomron falls within the broader dispute over Israeli settlements. Most of the international community considers settlements inconsistent with international law, while Israel argues they do not violate the Fourth Geneva Convention and regards the territory as historically disputed.[16] Critics argue that settlement construction harms the territorial integrity of the West Bank and the prospects of a Palestinian state.[16]

A local dispute concerned El Matan, built in 2002: residents regarded it as a Ma'ale Shomron neighborhood, while Peace Now said it lay just outside the settlement’s legally recognized boundaries.[17] Its synagogue served 11 families and several single adults in 2010; settlers acknowledged that it lacked a permit but argued that it conformed to zoning rules and that political considerations prevented authorization.[17]

Yesh Din petitioned the High Court in May 2009 to halt synagogue construction, leading to a temporary suspension order and subsequently a defense-establishment order to halt construction and demolish the structure.[18] The settlers’ appeal was rejected; in October 2010, the High Court also rejected a request for an interim injunction against sealing the synagogue, while Justice Hanan Meltzer ordered an expanded three-judge hearing.[18]