Hashmonaim

File:HashmonaimShool5.JPG

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from several Palestinian villages/towns nearby in order to construct Hashmonaim:

• 945 dunams from Ni'lin,[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Ni'lin_tp_en.pdf Ni’lin Town Profile], ARIJ, p. 17
• 186 dunams from Al-Midya,[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/AlMidya.pdf Al Midya Village Profile], ARIJ, p. 15
• 5 dunams from Saffa.[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Saffa_vp_en.pdf Saffa village profile], ARIJ, p. 17

Under Israeli legal rulings, this territory was claimed as unoccupied state land by the prior sovereign entity, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and thus passed to the subsequent sovereign entity in occupation, the state of Israel.{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.4875925|title=Plia Albeck, Who Paved Legal Way for 100 Settlements, Dies|date=2005-09-27|work=Haaretz|access-date=2018-08-03|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHfkopvqv0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/hzHfkopvqv0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Frontline: Journey to the Occupied Lands - Interview with Plia Albeck, Israeli Deputy Minister of Justice on the legal status of settlements begin at 19:25.|website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

Construction of the first homes began in December 1983. A dedication ceremony on June 12, 1984, was attended by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and the Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu. The first families moved in in August 1987. The name derives from the location of Hashmonaim in a region where the Hasmoneans lived in antiquity.[http://www.jposttravel.com/jerusalem_tours/AyalonValley1008.html Ayalon Valley - On the Maccabee trail] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425163034/http://www.jposttravel.com/jerusalem_tours/AyalonValley1008.html |date=2012-04-25 }}

Hashmonaim originally consisted of two neighborhoods: Ramat Modi'in was established in 1983 and Ganei Modi'in in 1985. In 1996, Ganei Modi'in became part of Modi'in Illit.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:xgJpiXsuh2QJ:www.btselem.org/download/200512_under_the_guise_of_security_eng.pdf+&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShMNHzdgJUJ15UWVTQqliMDQHiwrayORKHXoSV3lBnpu9F_SVOIYUhZbuGlcAoarcQHYX-OdmQRAwMHiAdEXLt0wMINmilG6rjT0CS2dcrSVn8MXIFv9_QidP14YRQAwB7pZsiy&sig=AHIEtbRMqvMcqYThhnnksMn7Pc6VcoXELQ&pli=1M|title=Case study: The Modi'in Illit Bloc|publisher=B'Tselem|date=December 2005|access-date=August 24, 2012}}

In May 2010, three homes in Hashmonaim were demolished by Israeli security forces. The buildings were deemed to be violating a 10-month construction freeze in the West Bank.{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/israel_news/israeli_forces_demolish_settlement_homes/|title=Israeli Forces Demolish Settlement Homes|date=May 9, 2010|access-date=August 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905083119/http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/israel_news/israeli_forces_demolish_settlement_homes/|archive-date=September 5, 2012}}

In 2010, there were 545 families living in Hashmonaim. Around 50% of the residents are native English speakers.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/little-america-just-over-the-green-line-1.326926|title=Little America, just over the Green Line|publisher=Haaretz|first=Tamar|last=Morad|date=Nov 26, 2010|access-date=August 24, 2012}} Most are members of the religious Zionist community. Many residents commute to jobs in the United States or work for American companies.{{cite web|last=Berman|first=Daphna|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/924725.html |title='The best place to raise your kids'|work=Haaretz|date=November 16, 2007|access-date=August 12, 2008}}

Like all Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, the international community considers Hashmonaim to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory and are as such illegal under customary international law.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3333727.stm|title=The settlers' struggle|publisher=BBC News|date=December 19, 2003|first=Kathryn|last=Westcott|access-date=August 24, 2012}} Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706021237/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf |date=2010-07-06 }} International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45[http://www.btselem.org/separation_barrier/international_court_decision Opinion of the International Court of Justice] B'Tselem

There are ten synagogues in Hashmonaim: four Ashkenazi, three Sephardi, two Yemenite and one Chabad.

Hashmonaim has five kindergartens, a religious elementary school, and a high-school yeshiva, which attracts boys from all over the Binyamin Region. The community also has a clubhouse for young people, a separate Bnei Akiva branch, two basketball courts, a baseball field, playgrounds, a library and a fitness center.

The drive from Hashmoniam to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Ariel, is approximately thirty minutes by car. Bus connection is also available.

The Hashmonaim Titans are a local baseball team, part of the annual league run by the Israel Association of Baseball.{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2010/05/24/time_for_israel_to_take_up_baseball_98973.html|title=Time for Israel to Take Up Baseball|publisher=RealClearWorld|date=May 24, 2010|first=Michael|last=Freund|access-date=August 24, 2012}}

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• {{official website|http://rammod.djmetals.com/history.eng.htm}}

{{Matte Binyamin Regional Council}}

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Category:Religious Israeli settlements

Category:Mateh Binyamin Regional Council

Category:Populated places established in 1988

Category:1988 establishments in the Israeli Civil Administration area

Category:Community settlements