Susya (Israeli Settlement)

Susya is situated in the South Hebron Hills in Judea and Samaria, approximately 1.5 kilometers east of the ancient archaeological site of Susya.[2] The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics records the locality under the name SUSEYA, assigns it locality code 3756, and lists 1983 as the year of Jewish settlement.[3] An INSS report states that 16 outposts were established between Ma'on and Susya, including one during wartime operations.[7]

The neighboring settlement of Mitzpe Yair lies approximately 1.5 kilometers from Susya. It was named after Yair Har Sinai, a Susya resident murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in 2001.[8]

Official locality and population tables list 1983 as the year of Susya's establishment or Jewish settlement.[1][3] A 2012 Ynet account likewise places the state-established Jewish village in 1983, approximately 1.5 kilometers east of the archaeological site, while treating the ancient site and modern community as distinct localities.[2] Other reported establishment dates are addressed in the Controversies section.

Recorded figures show substantial long-term population growth in Susya, followed by a slight decline in the most recent figure. The population rose from 468 in 1999 to 841 in 2009, 1,301 in 2020, and 1,382 in 2021.[1] It then increased to 1,522 in 2022, 1,641 in 2023, and 1,695 in 2024 before decreasing to 1,650 in 2025.[1]

A separate Israel Central Bureau of Statistics locality list records a population of 1,605.[3] The cited materials do not explain the difference between that figure and the later figures in the Jewish Virtual Library table.

A tour and study center was established near the ancient site in 1985, offering tours, instruction, and activities covering the Judean Desert, South Hebron Hills, and northern Negev.[9] The center included a hostel and dining room. Although its services were described as intended for all sectors of the public, its activities were primarily directed toward the religious-Zionist community.[9]

The modern settlement draws its name from an ancient Jewish city in the same general area. Ancient Susya was a large, organized Jewish city that existed from the fourth century CE until approximately the beginning of the ninth century, flourishing especially during the late Byzantine and early Arab periods.[4] The site includes an ancient synagogue with mosaic floors and Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions. Parts of the synagogue's Ark platform were discovered scattered across the floor during excavations in 1971 and are now displayed at the Israel Museum.[4]

The archaeological site also contains remains from the late Roman, Byzantine, early Islamic, and Ottoman periods. Its synagogue has been dated to the end of the third century CE and contains mosaic floors, Hebrew inscriptions, and Jewish symbols.[10] Susya is also identified as an ancient Jewish city from the period of the Mishnah and Talmud, and the protection, preservation, development, and public accessibility of archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria fall within the responsibilities of the Civil Administration's Archaeology Unit.[11] A Jewish Review of Books visitor account describes a partially reconstructed synagogue dated to 300 CE and presents it as part of the Jewish heritage of the Hebron Hills.[12]

In July 2020, a fire broke out at the archaeological site.[10] Five firefighting teams reportedly stopped the blaze before it reached the synagogue, and an initial survey found no significant damage.[10] The cause was not established by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories spokesperson; the site's director stated his belief that it was deliberate arson.[10]

A separate Palestinian locality called Susiya lies near Israeli settlements and is distinguished in official reporting from the Israeli residents of a nearby settlement.[5] One report described it as an unauthorized village adjacent to the Israeli settlement and estimated its population at roughly 75 residents.[6] The Israeli settlement, the archaeological site, and the Palestinian village are distinct localities, although their proximity has generated overlapping legal and political disputes.

The Civil Administration declared the ancient site a recognized archaeological site in 1990 following archaeological work and discussions at the Ministry of Defense; the site was subsequently fenced and residential use there prohibited.[2] One account places the establishment of a permanent, year-round Palestinian presence at a location between the archaeological site and the Israeli settlement in 1994. That chronology comes from a single opinion source and is not independently confirmed by the other cited materials.[2]

Construction in the Palestinian village has been the subject of prolonged Israeli court proceedings because structures were built without required Civil Administration permits.[13] In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Administration had the right to demolish Palestinian homes there.[6] In May 2015, the Supreme Court also rejected a request for an interim order freezing demolition orders after the Civil Administration rejected a master plan prepared by the residents.[14] Following that ruling, Palestinians erected a protest tent at the site, which Palestinian figures visited in solidarity with local residents.[14]

A 2017 U.S. State Department human-rights report described the Palestinian village as located in Area C and noted that the Israeli Civil Administration had proposed in 2016 that its residents relocate to an area bordering PA-controlled Area A.[5] In November 2017, the government informed the High Court of Justice that it intended to demolish 20 structures — approximately 20 percent of the community, according to the report. The case was continuing at year's end, and the report did not state that the demolitions were carried out.[5]

The proposed demolitions drew international attention. In 2017, ten Democratic U.S. senators urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to demolish Susya or Khan al-Ahmar, warning that doing so would endanger Israel's future as a democracy.[13] The Obama administration had similarly called in 2015 for Israel to refrain from demolishing Susya, with State Department spokesman John Kirby describing such demolition as a "harmful and provocative act."[13] The Israeli organization Regavim petitioned the courts on the matter; a court approved the demolition of some Palestinian structures, and Regavim's coordinator urged the government not to yield to external pressure.[15]

Sources give differing establishment dates for the Israeli settlement. The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Jewish Virtual Library list 1983.[3][1] A Jerusalem Post opinion article states 1982.[16] In a separate Jerusalem Post report, Palestinian village council head Jihad Nawajah was quoted as recalling that the settlement was established in 1991.[17] The differing dates and attributions are not reconciled in the cited materials.

The legal status of the land on which the Israeli settlement stands has also been presented differently. One 2012 Ynet opinion article describes the settlement as established on state land, while another attributes to state data the claim that 46 percent of it was built on privately owned Palestinian land.[2][18] The sources do not provide parcel-level records or otherwise resolve the conflicting accounts.

A 2008 U.S. State Department human-rights report recorded that on June 8, 2008, Tamam al-Nawajah and two family members were attacked while farming near the Susiya settlement.[19] Israeli police arrested three Susya residents in connection with the assaults on June 17; they were subsequently released for lack of evidence, and the investigation was still ongoing at the end of the year.[19]

The 2023 U.S. State Department report stated that on October 28 armed settlers entered Susiya and threatened to kill Palestinian villagers unless they left within 24 hours.[20] Details alleging that the perpetrators wore IDF uniforms and held residents at gunpoint were attributed by the report to the West Bank Protection Consortium and press accounts.[20] The incident appeared in a broader passage stating that 16 Palestinian villages had been vacated since October 7 because of settler violence and harassment, a figure attributed to B'Tselem.[20]