| El Matan | |
| Foundation: | 2000 |
| Founded By: | Religious youths |
| District: | js |
| Council: | Shomron |
| Pushpin Map: | Israel shomron |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Coordinates: | 32.1511°N 35.0753°W |
El Matan (Hebrew: אל מתן||Towards Matan' or 'God's Gift) is an illegal Israeli outpost in the West Bank on the lands of the Palestinian village of Wad Qana, located around a kilometer south of Ma'ale Shomron, under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council. The outpost was established in 2000 on the Wadi Qana Nature reserve — one of the largest and most important such reserves in the West Bank[1] — by a group of religious youths from the nearby settlements of (Karnei Shomron and Ma'ale Shomron).[2] It is home to an estimated population of 48 (2008),[3] around 16 families and a small number of singles, both religious and non-religious Jews. El Matan is considered an unauthorized outpost by the Israeli government and is illegal under Israeli law.[4] The international community does not differentiate between Israeli outposts and Israeli settlements authorized by the Israeli government.[5] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, though the Israeli government disputes this.[6] [7]
A synagogue erected on the site was closed down for lacking a building permit from the authorities in the Israeli Civil Administration.[8] On 2 October 2014, Haaretz carried notification of a master plan envisaging the confiscation from Wad Qana, an area farmed by Palestinians, of 100 dunams of land for the El Matan outpost.[9]