Telem (Israeli settlement)
Israeli settlement in the West Bank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Telem (Hebrew: תֶּלֶם) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Organized as a communal settlement, it is located in the southern Judean Hills region, west of Kiryat Arba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hevron Regional Council. In 2024 it had a population of 655.
Telem
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| Etymology: Furrow | |
  Telem Location within the Southern West Bank | |
| Coordinates: 31°33′51″N 35°01′52″E | |
| Country | Palestine |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Council | Har Hevron |
| Region | West Bank |
| Affiliation | Mishkei Herut Beitar |
| Founded | 31 January 1982 |
| Population (2024)[1] | 655 |
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]
Name, etymology
The settlement's original name was Mitzpe Guvrin, lit. 'Guvrin Lookout', since it overlooks the Beit Guvrin region.[3]
Telem (תָּלַם) means furrow, the ridge left by a plough; or to furrow, leave a ridge.[4][5]
History
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated about 1000 dunams of land from the nearby Palestinian town of Tarqumiyah in order to construct Telem.[6]
The settlement was established on 31 January 1982 as a pioneering Nahal military outpost and demilitarized only a year later when turned over for residential purposes in the form of a non-religious cooperative village (Hebrew: מושב שיתופי, moshav shitufi) belonging to the Herut Betar movement. In 1995, with the assistance of the Amana settlement organization,[7] houses were built.
In 2004, a group of about twenty religious families joined the village in order to strengthen and build a mixed community. In the centre of the village, a beit midrash ('house of study') was established and named the Netivot Dror Yeshiva (lit. 'Paths[8][9] of Dror Yeshiva') in memory of Dror Weinberg, an Israel Defense Forces army colonel who, as of 2007, was the highest ranking Israeli soldier to be killed during the Second Intifada.[citation needed]