Petza'el

Petza'el

פְּצָאֵל‎
Petza'el פְּצָאֵל‎
	Petza'el
	Coordinates: 32°02′39″N 35°26′32″E / 32.04417°N 35.44222°E
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Council	Bik'at HaYarden
Region	West Bank
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1970
Founded by	Moshavim Movement
Population (2022)	371

Petza'el (Hebrew: פְּצָאֵל) is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the center of the Jordan Valley, 34.5 kilometers from the Green line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council.^[2] In 2022 it had a population of 371. It is named for Phasael, older brother of Herod the Great, for whom he had named a city nearby in ancient times.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli and US governments dispute this.^[3]

Name

History

During the Roman period, King Herod the Great of Judaea established a new city in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho, which he named Phasaelis (Ancient Greek: Φασαηλίς, Phasaēlís^[4]), in dedication to his elder brother Phasael.^[5] Its remains were identified in the area (more at Fasayil: History and archaeology).

Modern Petza'el

Petza'el was established near Ma'ale Efraim in 1970 by former soldiers who were members of the Moshavim Movement. The settlement was initially administered as both a moshav and a kibbutz. In 1975 the settlement moved to a location in the valley where the agricultural fields of the members were located. According to ARIJ, in order to construct Petza'el Israel confiscated land from two Palestinian villages: 1,242 dunams from Fasayil,^[6] 176 dunams from Al-Jiftlik^[7]

In recent years,^[when?] the settlements has absorbed around 30 new families, mostly the children of the founding members.^[2]^[8]

Economy

Most of the settlement's residents earn their living from agriculture. The younger members work in both agriculture and other jobs.^[2]

In the 2013 the settlement had 3,960 dunams of cultivated land, of which 2,700 dunams was used for date palms, 800 for vineyards, 400 for vegetables (mostly peppers) and 60 for flowers.^[2] Most of the agricultural output is designated for export.^[9] There are conflicting views about the builder of a race track near the settlement. Haaretz reported the illegal race track was built by the west bank regional council by using public funds.^[10]

Community and civic services

The settlement operates two kindergartens, several clubs for the members, a synagogue, pool, grocery store and recreation sites. Some of the electricity is created by solar panels in the settlements and some residents also use solar panels for their personal use.^[2]