Esh Kodesh

This article is about the geographic location. For the book by rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, see Esh Kodesh (book).
Esh Kodesh
אֵשׁ קֹדֶשׁ, אש קודש‎
Esh Kodesh is located in the Northern West Bank
Esh Kodesh
Esh Kodesh
Esh Kodesh is located in the West Bank
Esh Kodesh
Esh Kodesh
Coordinates: 32°4′1″N 35°20′10″E / 32.06694°N 35.33611°E / 32.06694; 35.33611
CouncilMateh Binyamin
RegionWest Bank
Founded2000[1]

Esh Kodesh (Hebrew: אֵשׁ קֹדֶשׁ, lit. 'Sacred Fire') is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank near Shilo. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Israeli outposts in the West Bank are considered illegal both under international law as well as under Israeli law.[2] The population in 2005 was under 12 families.[3]

History

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Esh Kodesh was founded in 2000 near Shvut Rachel,[4] one of several such settlements in the area.[5] It was named for Esh Kodesh Gilmore, 25, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists while working as a security guard at a branch of the National Insurance Institute in East Jerusalem.[6][7] Esh Kodesh is also a book of sermons delivered by the Admor of Piaseczno in the Warsaw Ghetto from the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 until July 1942, when the Jews of the ghetto were deported to the death camp at Treblinka.[5] According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from the two Palestinian villages of Jalud and Qusra in order to construct the Israeli outposts of Ahiya and Esh Kodesh.[8]

To meet the security challenges of living in an area where their presence generates hostility, residents have, in the past, undergone Mishmeret Yesha self-defense training.[9]

In 2010, the Israeli Supreme Court sentenced Zvi Strook, a resident of Esh Kodesh and the son of Orit Strook, head of the Human Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria, to 18 months in prison for the kidnapping and assault of a Palestinian teenager.[10] In 2012, the IDF civil administration ordered Strook to vacate the land of Jalud resident Fauzi Ibrahim, which he had illegally occupied since 2010.[11] Strook appealed the order, and when his appeal was rejected by the IDF appeals committee in 2014, he appealed to the Supreme Court.[11] In December 2015, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, but granted him 12 months to vacate the land.[11]

In September 2011, the Israel Defense Forces established a base near Esh Kodesh[1] On 23 September 2011, Israeli security forces were called in to break up a clash between the settlers and a group of 300 villagers from Qusra.[12] Due to the growing tension, residents of Qusra armed with flashlights and sticks began to patrol the perimeter of their village at night to thwart possible incursions by Esh Kodesh settlers.[13]

In early January 2013, after the Israeli High Court of Justice had ruled that the Palestinians of Qusra should be allowed to use one of their fields near Esh Kodesh, the Israeli Border police tried to enforce the ruling. This led to clashes with the Esh Kodesh settlers, leaving two Border Police injured.[14]

On 5 January 2013, approximately 200 Palestinians cut through the fences of the vineyard and attacked the vineyards and residents of Esh Kodesh. Twelve residents were injured, with one taken to the hospital. The vineyards were destroyed, a security vehicle was damaged, and the attackers neared homes before the military arrived. The incident was part of a continuing dispute between the Esh Kodesh settlers and nearby Palestinians over land ownership.[15]

Price tag attacks

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Settlers from Esh Kodesh have participated in price tag attacks on Palestinian property in the West Bank.[16]

  • 21 October 2011: A group of four armed and masked men from Esh Kodesh went to the Palestinian village of Jalud, threw a stun grenade at Palestinian workers who were harvesting and fired in the direction of the harvesters, some of whom were then clubbed. According to the testimony of Israeli eyewitnesses, the IDF and Border Police present did not intervene, other than to fire tear gas grenades both at the harvesters and the wounded.[17]
  • 3 January 2013: According to Palestinians, in a village south-east of Nablus, four cars had their tires slashed, with the words "Solidarity with Esh Kodesh", and a Star of David spray-painted on a nearby wall.[18]
  • 7 January 2014: Cars were burnt and price tag graffiti, reading "Esh Kodesh", "revenge", and a Star of David, were sprayed in Madama, Nablus, a Palestinian village south of Nablus.[16][19]
  • 8 January 2014: 30 fruit trees were cut down in a Palestinian garden center next to Kfar Qassem. The site was blazed with the slogan "Regards Eish Kodesh."[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "New Commander Should Protect Palestinians From Settler Violence". Targeted News Service. November 22, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  3. ^ Oded Haklai (June 2007). "Religious—Nationalist Mobilization and State Penetration: Lessons From Jewish Settlers' Activism in Israel and the West Bank". Comparative Political Studies. 40 (6): 713–739. doi:10.1177/0010414006290109. S2CID 144892212.
  4. ^ Arieh O'Sullivan (December 4, 2003). "Two empty illegal outposts removed". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  5. ^ a b The extinguishing and rekindling of the `Holy Fire' Haaretz
  6. ^ "NJ man gets green light to pursue terror lawsuit". Archived from the original on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  7. ^ Disproportionate number of Anglos slain; Olmert praises families' dignity
  8. ^ Qusra Village Profile ARIJ, p. 15
  9. ^ Matthew Wagner (4 April 2008). "Jews with guns". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  10. ^ Israel Supreme Court extends sentence of settler who assaulted Palestinian, Haaretz
  11. ^ a b c Amira Hass (December 24, 2015). "Settler Given Year To Remove Vineyard on Palestinian Land". Haaretz.
  12. ^ While the diplomats haggle, deadly tensions are mounting in the nascent Palestine, The Guardian
  13. ^ Palestinian statehood bid stokes tensions in West Bank The Washington Post, 28 September 2011
  14. ^ Settlers clash with police near Esh Kodesh The Jerusalem Post, 1 February 2013
  15. ^ IDF: 200 Palestinians attack Esh Kodesh vineyards The Jerusalem Post, 1 June 2013
  16. ^ a b 'Price tag' attack in West Bank following prevented lynch of settlers The Jerusalem Post, 8 January 2014
  17. ^ Amira Hass, Eight months after bloody olive harvest battle, still no justice in sight Haaretz, 22 August 2012
  18. ^ Suspected 'price tag' attack near Nablus Ynet, 3 January 2013
  19. ^ Settlers torch 2 Palestinian vehicles near Nablus Archived 2014-01-10 at the Wayback Machine Ma'an News Agency, 8 January 2014.
  20. ^ 'Settler 'terror': Price tag in Kfar Qassem, foiled plot against demolisher Ynet, 10 January 2014
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