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Ma'ale Levona

Ma'ale Levona
מַעֲלֵה לְבוֹנָה
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • unofficial Maaleh Levonah
LogoMaaleLevona.png
Ma'ale Levona is located in the West Bank
Ma'ale Levona
Ma'ale Levona
Coordinates: 32°03′16″N 35°14′27″E / 32.05444°N 35.24083°E / 32.05444; 35.24083Coordinates: 32°03′16″N 35°14′27″E / 32.05444°N 35.24083°E / 32.05444; 35.24083
District Judea and Samaria Area
Council Mateh Binyamin
Region West Bank
Affiliation Amana
Founded 1983
Population (2015) 766
Name meaning Ascent of Frankincense

Ma'ale Levona (Hebrew: מַעֲלֵה לְבוֹנָה‎, lit. Ascent of Frankincense) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located to the south-east of Ariel, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2015, it had a population of 766.

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

The valley may be named for the frankincense grown there in Biblical days for the incense used in the Tabernacle of near-by Shiloh. There was an Israelite village on the edge of the valley that also bore the name "Levonah" (Judges 21:19). The name of that ancient site is preserved in the name of the Arab village Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya (Eastern Lubban).

Ma'ale Levona overlooks the ancient mountain pass noteworthy as the site of the Battle of Wadi Haramia, the first battle of the Maccabees against the Selucids. The mountain pass, the "Ascent of Levonah" is to the east of the village, and links the Levonah valley to its north with the Shiloh valley to its south. Judah Maccabee killed the Samarian mysarch Apollonius in this battle, taking his sword for himself.


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