What is "migdalim"

Migdalim is an Israeli settlement organized as a communal settlement located 45 kilometres east of Tel Aviv in the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council in the northern West Bank. It is situated on road 505, otherwise known as the Trans-Samaria Highway. The village lies adjacent to the Palestinian hamlet of Qusra. The population of Migdalim is 37 families. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Migdalim was first established on 1984 as a pioneer Nahal military outpost, and demilitarized when turned over to residential purposes in 1986 to non- Orthodox Jewish Israelis. One of the reasons for choosing this location was to provide a continuity of settlements along the Trans-Samaria Highway between Kfar Tapuah on the "mountain spine" and Ma'ale Efrayim in the Jordan Valley.

On March 1, 2006, Eldad Abir, a resident of Migdalim, married with two children, was shot at point blank range and killed by Palestinians while working in the local gas station. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the murder.