Ma'on מָעוֹן |
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Ma'on/P.S.Maggioni Settlement
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Coordinates: 31°24′48″N 35°09′50″E / 31.41333°N 35.16389°ECoordinates: 31°24′48″N 35°09′50″E / 31.41333°N 35.16389°E | |
District | Judea and Samaria Area |
Council | Har Hebron |
Region | West Bank |
Affiliation | Amana |
Founded | 1981 |
Founded by | Nahal |
Population (2015) | 502 |
Ma'on (Hebrew: מָעוֹן) is an Israeli settlement and a moshav shitufi in the West Bank. Located in the Judean Hills south of Hebron and north of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hebron Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 502.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
The word 'Ma'on' in Hebrew means 'dwelling'. It refers to a biblical village said to stand on the borderlands of the desert, in the highlands of Judah, which is mentioned in Joshua (15:55), identified in modern times with Khirbet Ma'in, about 3km to the west. There is a ruin of an ancient synagogue at Khirbet Ma'in.
Ma'on is located in the southern Judean Hills at about 863 m above sea level.
The Arab village of Ma'in was a conical settlement on a hill, 1.25 kilometres south of Carmel, and 3 kilometres east of Susiya, with the ruins of a castle still visible, and cisterns, lying about 9 miles south south east of Hebron.
The Israeli outpost was first established in 1981 as a paramilitary Nahal outpost. It is located on one side of the main road between At-Tuwani and Tuba, east of At-Tuwani. The first civilian population, members of the Orthodox Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva settled there in 1982.