Petza'el is a moshav

Moshav

Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...

 and Israeli settlement

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...

 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 in the Jordan Valley

Jordan Valley (Middle East)

The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...

, 34.5 kilometers from the Green line

Green Line (Israel)

Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2009 it had a population of 205.

The village was established near Ma'ale Efraim

Ma'ale Efraim

Ma'ale Efrayim is an Israeli settlement and local council located along the eastern slopes of the Samarian mountains in the Jordan Valley, within the West Bank. Founded in 1978, the town's municipal status was upgraded to local council in 1981. Over 1,400 people now live in the yishuv...

 in 1970 by the Moshavim Movement

Moshavim Movement

The Moshavim Movement is one of the main settlement movements in Israel, whose members are cooperative villages organized as moshavim and moshavim shitufiim...

. In 1975 it moved to its present location on the remains of the Jewish settlement of Phasaelis from the Second Temple

Second Temple

The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

 era, which in turn had been named for Phasael

Phasael

Phasael was a prince from the Herodian Dynasty of Judea.-Origins and early career:...

, the brother of Herod the Great

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

.

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...

, but the Israeli government disputes this.

In April 2011, a court ruled that Petza'el has to pay NIS 750,000 to the family of Rayiq Ma'sud Dagharmeh, 35, from Tayasir

Tayasir

Tayasir is a Palestinian town in the Tubas Governorate in the northern West Bank. The town is located 22 kilometers northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Tayasir had a population of 2,400 inhabitants. It consists of 281 dunams...

, who was shot death in 2003 by the settlement's security coordinator Shlomo Adir. Adir was charged with negligent homicide and sentenced to 200 hours of community service earlier.