Susya () is a religious community Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located near the archaeological site of Susya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hevron Regional Council. In , it had a population of .
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
The Palestinian settlement of Susya contained an archaeological site with the same name. After the area was occupied by Israel, the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem began excavating at Susya in 1971. The Israeli settlement of Susya was established between May and September 1983, on 1,800 dunams of land. In the view of anthropologist Maya Wind, "In an attempt to erase the contemporary Palestinian village, they named the Jewish settlement Susya and declared that they were "reclaiming" Jewish presence on the land."
In 1985, the Susya Tourism and Education Center was established which offers tours and activities in the nearby archaeological site. The following year, the Israeli Civil Administration officially recognitioned Susya as an archaeological site; the Palestinian inhabitants were expelled and some of their expropriated land was given to the Israeli settlement.
On 23 March 1993, Musa Suliman Abu Sabha, a Palestinian was arrested outside Susiya by two guards, Moshe Deutsch and Yair Har-Sinai, because they suspected he was planning an attack on Jews.Associated Press, 'Jewish settler kills bound Palestinian,' The Spokesman-Review, 24 March 1993 p.A11, refers that Army radio had identified him to be a Jawad Jamil Khalil Husiya, 19, of Yatta. Taken for questioning, he stabbed in the shoulder or back one of the guards, Moshe Deutsch, while the two were in a car, and, wrestled to the ground, was bound hand and foot. Another settler from nearby Maal Hever, Yoram ShkolnikAmi Pedahzur, Jewish Terrorism in Israel, p.184. shot him eight times, killing him. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he was found bearing a grenade, although the Baltimore Sun attributed assertions that, "the grenade had previously been removed from him" to unspecified "other sources.Doug Struck, 'Jews react to slayings with bullets Cycle of reprisals claims another life,' at Baltimore Sun, March 24, 1993. Shkolnik was arrested and served seven and a half years in prison for murder.
Susya was expanded in late 1999 by installing 10 caravans on 4 dunams of land belonging to a Palestinian family, the Shreiteh.
On 2 July 2001, the body of Yair Har-Sinai, a Jewish shepherd of 19 years from Susya who advocated pacifism was found shot in the head and chest by Muhammad Noor from nearby Khirbet Susya.
On October 16 2005, one of three victims of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades shooting attack at Gush Etzion, a fifteen-year-old boy named Oz Ben-Meir, from Ma'on is buried in the Susya cemetery in the southeastern portion of the settlement across Road 317 from the main housing section of this settlement. A friend and he were on their way to visit Jerusalem when he was killed.Oz Ben-Meir Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs memorial According to the media, thousands attended his funeral and burial.Thousands Attend Funeral of Oz Ben Meir, News Briefs 10/17/2005, Tishrei 14, 5766 Reported 12:19 p.m. In 2006, it had a population of 737.Unispal, "Israeli Settlements in Gaza and the West Bank (Including Jerusalem) Their Nature and Purpose, Part II" , United Nations, New York 1984.אודות סוסיא
In 2008, a large advanced goat pen and dairy, incorporated as Halav Ha'aretz, Susya Dairy Ltd., was inaugurated on Susya's lands with an investment of 3.5 million ILS. It produced goat yoghurt for the Israeli market from a herd of 1500 goats, 48 of which can be milked simultaneously.Akiva Eldar, 'If Speaking Againstr Injustice Is Antisemitic, I'm an Antisemite,' Haaretz 9 February 2022
Many former Afrikaner Christians, after converting to Judaism, have settled in Susya, which has become a notable stronghold for their group.Judy Maltz, 'Cleansed by the Torah': Why These Afrikaners Converted to Judaism and Moved to Israel Haaretz 30 September 2021:'Like many Orthodox Jews, they also tend to be quite right-wing in their politics. It is no coincidence, then, that many have ended up living in West Bank settlements. Indeed, one of their main strongholds – aside from Ra'anana, which is popular among South African immigrants in general, and more recently the rural community of Yavne'el in northern Israel – is the settlement of Susya in the South Hebron Hills. . .Among the first Afrikaner converts to make aliyah were the Taljaards from Randfontein, a gold-mining city near Johannesburg. They came in the mid-1990s and began raising sheep in the settlement of Susya, where they were often involved in violent clashes with Palestinians from nearby villages in the South Hebron Hills. Jacob, the eldest of 14 children in the family, was killed in a tractor accident several years ago. He once famously told an Israeli television reporter that he “loved” the apartheid system and thought it was “the best thing in the world.”'
References
External links
Official website