Tekoa (Israeli settlement)

The murders of Koby Mandell and Yosef Ishran occurred on 8 May 2001, when two Jewish teenagers, Yaakov "Koby" Mandell and Yosef Ishran, were killed on the outskirts of the Israeli settlement of Tekoa in the West Bank, where they lived with their families. The identity of the killers has never been determined, though Israel and a number of sources state that unidentified Palestinian terrorists were responsible.Koby Mandell was an Israeli-American, his family having emigrated from the United States to Israel in 1996, and the murders resulted in legislation by the U.S. Congress aimed at strengthening the U.S. response to the killing of Americans overseas. In response to his death, Koby's parents set up the Koby Mandell Foundation to provide support for families bereaved by terrorist attacks.

Sdeh Bar Farm (Hebrew: חַוַּת שְׂדֶה בָּר, Havat Sdeh Bar) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Originally an Israeli outpost, illegal under Israeli law, it has been retroactively designated a suburb of Nokdim, located adjacent to the Palestinian village of Jubbet ad-Dib. Located south of Bethlehem near the foothills of Herodium, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Herod's Palace is an archaeological site within the fortress of Herodium in the West Bank, about 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Herod the Great commissioned a lavish palace to be built between 23 and 15 BCE atop Herodium for all to see. The palace itself consisted of four towers of seven stories, a bathhouse, courtyards, a Roman theatre, banquet rooms, a large walkway (“the course”), as well as extravagant living quarters for himself and guests. Once Herod died and the Great Revolt started, Herodium was abandoned. The Jews eventually had a base at Herodium where they built a synagogue which can still be seen today, unlike much of Herod's Palace.

Herodion (Ancient Greek: Ἡρώδειον; Arabic: هيروديون; Hebrew: הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis (Arabic: جبل فريديس, lit. '"Mountain of the Little Paradise"') is an ancient fortress located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast of Bethlehem. It is located between the villages of Beit Ta'mir, Za'atara and Jannatah. It is identified with the site of Herodium, built by King of Judea Herod the Great built between 23 and 15 BCE. Herodium is 758 meters (2,487 ft) above sea level.The site is in Area C of the West Bank, formally under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Civil Administration, a body of military officers, and in practice it is administered jointly with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Israel asserts that it is entitled to work in the area under the Oslo Accords, but the Palestinian authorities say Israel has no right to undertake digs there or remove artifacts that Israel discovered in excavations there.

Nokdim (Hebrew: נוֹקְדִים, lit. Shepherds) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located south of Bethlehem in the northern Judean Mountains, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 2,764. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.A mixed community of religious and secular Jews, both native Israelis and immigrants, Nokdim is home to the religious pre-army Mechina Magen Shaul, established in 1996.

Jannatah (Arabic: جناتة) is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) south of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate. Nearby villages include Hindaza in the north and Tuqu' to the south. It is situated 570 meters (1,870 ft) above sea level. The total land area is 11,901 dunams of which 319 constitute built-up area and 277 have been confiscated by the Israeli government for settlements and a military base. Much of the remainder is used for arable land.

Al-Asakra (Arabic: العساكرة) is a Palestinian village in the Bethlehem Governorate in the south-central West Bank, located 4.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem. It is a part of the Jannatah municipality. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of over 1,001 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.Al-Asakra has a land area of 2,116 dunams and is a part of the larger Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, lies between the towns of Tuqu' and Za'atara covering an area of 217,236 dunams (21 km2). Agriculture is the main economic activity of the region, which is located in Area 'C' and falls under the control of the Israel civil administration.

Kfar Eldad (Hebrew: כְּפַר אֶלְדָּד) is an Israeli settlement organised as a community settlement in the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Kfar Eldad is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council. The settlement is in the vicinity of Herodium and overlooks the Judean Desert. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, like Kfar Eldad, illegal under international law.

Jubbet ad-Dib (Arabic: جبة الذيب, also spelled Jubbet adh-Dhib) is a small Palestinian village in the central West Bank, part of the Bethlehem Governorate. It is located about 6.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem and is just east of the Palestinian town of Jannatah and north of the Israeli settlement Kfar Eldad. Its lands border on the settlement of Havat Sdeh Bar. It had a population of 144 according to the 2017 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Jubbet ad-Dib has a total land area of 402 dunams, of which 8 constitute as built-up area, and is situated at an altitude of 628 meters above sea level.

Khirbet ad-Deir, part of Teqoa, should not be confused with Khirbet ad-Deir in Hebron Governorate.Teqoa (Arabic: تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The town is built adjacent to the biblical site of Tekoa (Thecoe), now Khirbet Tuqu’, from which it takes its name. Today's town includes three other localities: Khirbet Ad Deir, Al Halkoom, and Khirbet Teqoa. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Teqoa had a population of 8,767 in 2017.The town is a part of the 'Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, along with Za'atara, Beit Ta'mir, Hindaza, Khirbet al-Deir and al-Asakra. Tuqu has a municipal jurisdiction of over 191,262 dunams, but its built-up area consists of 590 dunams, as 98.5% of the village's land was classified as Area C, and 1.5% as Area B in the 1995 accords. Situated in the immediate vicinity is the modern Israeli settlement of Tekoa, established in 1975 as a military outpost. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.

Beit Ta'mir (Arabic: خربة بيت تعمر) is a Palestinian village located six kilometers southeast of Bethlehem.The town is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,596 in 2017. The village is named after the 'Arab al-Ta'mira Bedouin tribe of the Bethlehem area, and along with Tuqu' and Za'atara forms the 'Arab al-Ta'mira village cluster.

Al-Maniya (Arabic: المانیا, also spelled al-Minya) is a Palestinian village in the Bethlehem Governorate in the central West Bank, 8.6 km southeast of Bethlehem and just south of Tuqu'. It incorporates the nearby hamlet of Wadi Muhammad within its jurisdiction. Most of the village, including much of its built-up area, is in Area C, giving the Israeli military full control over the village. It had a population of 1,346 in the 2017 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.