Beit El

Beit El / Beth El בֵּית אֵל‎ بيت إيل
Local council
Hebrew transcription(s)
• ISO 259	Beit ʔel
• Also spelled	Bet El (official)
Beit El / Beth El
Coordinates: 31°56′37.5531″N 35°13′21.1765″E / 31.943764750°N 35.222549028°E / 31.943764750; 35.222549028
Country	Palestinian territories (occupied West Bank)
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Founded	1977
Government
• Head of Municipality	Shay Alon
Area
• Total	1,528 dunams (1.528 km2 or 378 acres)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	6,108
• Density	4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Website	www.bet-el.muni.il

Beit El or Beth El (Hebrew: בֵּית אֵל) is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977–78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emunim.^[2] It is located in the hills north of Jerusalem, east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh, adjacent to Ramallah. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. The head of the local council is Shai Alon. In 2022 its population was 6,108.^[1]

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[3] The Ulpana neighbourhood was evacuated when it emerged that it was built on private Palestinian land. The World Zionist Organization (WZO) halted land transactions in the Aleph neighbourhood of Beit El after it emerged that some 250 buildings there were constructed illegally, and fraud was suspected.^[4]