Nili (Israeli Settlement)

Nili is classified as a rural community in the Judea and Samaria district and Ramallah subdistrict, within the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics assigns it locality code 3655 and records 1981 as its year of establishment.[2]

The community lies west of Ramallah in western Samaria.[1][5] It is grouped within the "Western Edge/Modiin Illit" bloc, a cluster of 13 settlements.[6] Nili and Na'ale are the bloc's only two communities described as lying outside the Israeli separation barrier; the other settlements are either completely within or almost completely encompassed by it.[6]

An Israeli government information page also describes a distinct moshav near Zikhron Ya'akov, founded in 1953 by immigrants from Iraq, Turkey, and Tunisia. Encyclopedia.com lists Givat Nili, founded in 1953, as a moshav.[7][5] That older community should not be confused with the Nili settlement established in western Samaria in 1981.

The modern settlement was established in 1981 in the Benjamin region of Judea and Samaria.[2][5] It was among several communities in the Western Edge/Modiin Illit bloc founded during the 1980s.[6]

Nili shares its name with the historic NILI organization, a Jewish Zionist underground active during World War I. Its name is an acronym for Netzach Yisrael lo yishaker, meaning "The Eternal One of Israel will not lie."[3] Formed in 1915, NILI gathered intelligence for British forces fighting the Ottoman Empire and was dismantled by Ottoman authorities in 1917.[7]

Published population tables show substantial growth since the late 1990s. Nili had 666 residents in 1999 and 846 in 2009. The population reached 1,787 in 2020, 1,921 in 2021, 2,191 in 2023, 2,250 in 2024, and 2,283 in 2025.[4]

Published figures differ for 2022: the Jewish Virtual Library table lists 1,968 residents, while the Central Bureau of Statistics locality file records 2,059.[4][2] An earlier INSS report listed a population of 913 within a bloc totaling 79,687 residents across 13 settlements. Its underlying population data were mostly from 2009, with some smaller-settlement figures from 2007 or 2008, but it does not identify which year applies to Nili.[6] An older reference table recorded 829 residents as of December 31, 2004.[5]

In 2013, young couples and people seeking larger homes were reported to be moving from Jerusalem-area neighborhoods including Pisgat Ze'ev, Givat Ze'ev, and Neve Ya'akov to communities that included Nili.[8] A real-estate agent later said that prices in settlements including Nili rose significantly in 2023, although demand waned after the outbreak of war that year.[9]

Plans for 354 housing units in Nili were reported in 2020 as among the largest projects in a round of West Bank settlement planning. The coverage characterized most construction in that round as being in so-called isolated settlements outside blocs expected to remain under Israeli control in a future agreement.[10]

In March 2026, Nili was included among Mateh Binyamin communities where educational institutions could be permitted to open. The final decision rested with the local authority and remained subject to conditions including proximity to an approved protected space.[11] An earlier record of communal activity dates to 1990, when the Tzomet Political Party organized a tree-planting project in Nili for the approaching Tu Bishvat holiday.[12]

A 2017 report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center stated that Palestinians fired at an Israeli vehicle near Nili on January 27. Nobody was injured, but the vehicle was damaged. The report said IDF forces found shell casings and that Israeli security forces detained two suspects the next day in Deir Abu Masha'l, northwest of Ramallah.[1]

On May 6, 2007, terrorists fired at a fuel facility near Deir Qadis, in the Nili area west of Ramallah. A tanker guard was seriously wounded, and security officials believed three or four terrorists were in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.[13]

On July 29, 2023, Israel's Home Front Command issued an alert concerning a suspected terrorist infiltration at Nili. Residents were instructed to enter buildings, lock their doors, and close their windows while searches were conducted after a suspect was seen climbing the community's fence.[14]

Like other Israeli settlements established in the West Bank after 1967, Nili exists within a politically and legally contested context. Israel maintains that the territory is disputed rather than legally occupied and that its final status should be determined through negotiations. Most of the international community considers the settlements contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, a position upheld by international bodies including the UN Security Council.[15][16]

Palestinians seek the West Bank for a future state and regard settlement construction as a principal obstacle to peace. Israel rejects that characterization and treats settlements as one of several issues to be resolved through final-status negotiations.[16][17] Nili lies outside the separation barrier, and 2020 planning coverage placed its proposed housing among a broader round of construction described as being concentrated largely in isolated settlements outside blocs expected to remain under Israeli control in a future agreement.[6][10]