Karnei Shomron (Hebrew: קַרְנֵי שׁוֹמְרוֹן, lit. "Rays (of light) of Samaria") is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council established in 1977 in the West Bank, east of Kfar Saba. Karnei Shomron is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) northeast of Tel Aviv and 85 kilometres (53 mi) north of Jerusalem. In 2022 it had a population of 9,920.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]
History and archaeology
Iron Age Israelite village
Before the establishment of Karnei Shomron, a salvage excavation was held uncovering the remains of Khirbet Jema'in.[3] The remains are of an ancient Jewish village, consisting mainly of four-room houses, agricultural facilities, oil press, winepress and a defensive wall. The village dates back to the Kingdom of Israel and was established during the peak of Israelite expansion in western Samaria.[3] It is reasonable to assume that it served as residence for a family or group of families from the tribe of Manasseh. The place serves as an example of a village from the biblical ( Iron Age) period that was not destroyed by human action.[3]
Confiscation of Palestinian land
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from four nearby Palestinian villages of in order to construct Karnei Shomron:
During the Second Intifada, on 16 February 2002, two people were killed and 30 people were wounded, six seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a pizzeria in Ginot Shomron shopping mall in Karnei Shomron. Rachel Thaler, 16 died of her wounds on 27 February. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for the attack.[citation needed]
