Beitar Illit

Beitar Illit is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, about ten kilometers southwest of Jerusalem in the Gush Etzion bloc, in the northern Judean Hills at roughly 700 meters elevation. Established in 1985 on confiscated Palestinian land, with its first residents arriving in 1990, it grew from an initial religious Zionist community into a wholly Haredi Jewish population that by 2024 numbered 71,697, one of the largest and fastest growing Israeli settlements. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a view the Israeli government disputes.