El Matan is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, located around a kilometer south (and inside the official boundaries) of Ma'ale Shomron

Ma'ale Shomron

Ma'ale Shomron , is an Israeli settlement and communal village located about 300 metres above sea level in the northern West Bank in the Samarian hills under the administrative local government of the Shomron Regional Council...

, under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council

Shomron Regional Council

The Shomron Regional Council is a regional council in the northern Samarian hills, in the northern part of the West Bank. The offices of the regional council are located in the Barkan Industrial Park. This regional council provides various municipal services for the 30 Israeli settlements within...

. The outpost was established in 2000 allegedly on state lands by a group of religious youths from nearby settlements (Karnei Shomron

Karnei Shomron

Karnei Shomron is an Israeli settlement and local council established in 1977 in the northwestern West Bank, east of Kfar Sava. It is north-east of Tel Aviv and north of Jerusalem. In 2006, the population of Karnei Shomron was 6,300...

 and Ma'ale Shomron). It is home to an estimated population of 48 (2008), around 16 families and a small number of singles, both religious and non-religious Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

. El Matan is considered an unauthorized outpost by the Israeli government and is illegal under Israeli law. The international community does not differentiate between Israeli outposts and Israeli settlements authorized by the Israeli government. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law

International law and Israeli settlements

The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...

, though the Israeli government disputes this.