Keshet, Golan Heights
Encyclopedia
Keshet is an Israeli settlement
, moshav shitufi
, in the Golan Heights. It was established in 1974 after the Yom Kippur War
by Hapoel HaMizrachi
near the Syria
n city of Quneitra
, which had been abandoned and subsequently razed to the ground in the Six Day War. Its name is a translation of the name Quneitra ("arch").
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
. They initially settled in a bunker in the fringes of Quneitra, but were forced to relocate to an abandoned Syrian farm when Quneitra was returned to Syria as part of the armistice agreement. Four months later, the Israeli government agreed to establish the settlement, and the settlers moved to another temporary location in an abandoned Syrian military camp further west. The settlement at its present location was established in 1978.
of Mount Paras at 710 metres (2,329.4 ft) above sea level. It is located just south of Highway 87
between the Keshet Junction and the Bashan Junction. Its population, as of 2005, was 524.
(military preparatory institution).
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
, moshav shitufi
Moshav shitufi
A Moshav shitufi is a type of cooperative village in Israel whose organizational principles place it between the kibbutz and the moshav on the scale of cooperation...
, in the Golan Heights. It was established in 1974 after the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
by Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
near the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n city of Quneitra
Quneitra
Quneitra is the largely destroyed and abandoned capital of the Quneitra Governorate in south-western Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the Golan Heights at an elevation of 1,010 metres above sea level...
, which had been abandoned and subsequently razed to the ground in the Six Day War. Its name is a translation of the name Quneitra ("arch").
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights 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...
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
Keshet was established in the period between the cease-fire and armistice agreement following the Yom Kippur War by national-religious demonstrators who opposed an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-war linePurple Line (border)
The purple line was the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria after the 1967 Six Day War.-History:Syria gained independence from France in 1946 and on May 14, 1948 the British withdrew from Palestine as Israel declared its independence. Syrian forces participated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
. They initially settled in a bunker in the fringes of Quneitra, but were forced to relocate to an abandoned Syrian farm when Quneitra was returned to Syria as part of the armistice agreement. Four months later, the Israeli government agreed to establish the settlement, and the settlers moved to another temporary location in an abandoned Syrian military camp further west. The settlement at its present location was established in 1978.
Geography
Keshet is situated near the volcanic coneVolcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
of Mount Paras at 710 metres (2,329.4 ft) above sea level. It is located just south of Highway 87
Highway 87 (Israel)
Highway 87 is an east-west highway in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It extends from the northern shores of Lake Kinneret in the Kinarot Valley through the central Golan Heights. It begins in the west at Kfar Nahum and end in the east at Bashan junction...
between the Keshet Junction and the Bashan Junction. Its population, as of 2005, was 524.
Economy
The community's economy is based on agriculture and tourism, and it has a field school and a religious mechinaMechina
A Mechina is an Israeli educational program that prepares high school graduates for serving in the Israeli Army or study at an institution of higher learning in Israel...
(military preparatory institution).