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Beitar Illit

Beitar Illit
  • בֵּיתָר עִלִּית
  • بيتار عيليت
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259 Beitar ʕillit
 • Also spelled Betar Illit (official)
Beitar Ilit.jpg
Official logo of Beitar Illit
Logo
Beitar Illit is located in Israel
Beitar Illit
Beitar Illit
Coordinates: 31°41′52″N 35°6′56″E / 31.69778°N 35.11556°E / 31.69778; 35.11556Coordinates: 31°41′52″N 35°6′56″E / 31.69778°N 35.11556°E / 31.69778; 35.11556
Region West Bank
District Judea and Samaria Area
Founded 1985
Government
 • Type City
 • Mayor Meir Rubenstein
Area
 • Total 4,300 dunams (4.3 km2 or 1.7 sq mi)
Population (2015)
 • Total 49,343
Website betar-illit.muni.il

Beitar Illit (Hebrew: בֵּיתָר עִלִּית‎; officially Betar Illit; "Illit" is pronounced "ee-leet"; Arabic: بيتار عيليت‎‎) is an Israeli settlement and city in Gush Etzion, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Jerusalem, in the Judaean Mountains of the West Bank. Beitar Illit is one of Israel's largest and most rapidly growing settlements, and in 2015 had a population of 49,343.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Beitar Illit, (lit. Upper Beitar) is named after the ancient Jewish city of Betar, whose ruins lie 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away.

Beitar Illit was established in 1984 on the lands of the Palestinian village of Husan by a small group of young families from the religious Zionist yeshiva of Machon Meir. The first residents moved in, in 1990. As Beitar Illit began to grow, an influx of Haredi Jewish Bobover families came to predominate, while the original group moved on. The city is now home to many Hasidic groups, including Bobov, Boston, Boyan, Breslov, Karlin-Stolin and Slonim. The city has expanded to three adjacent hills.


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