| Masua | |
| Foundation: | 1969 |
| Founded By: | Nahal |
| Region: | West Bank |
| District: | js |
| Council: | Bik'at HaYarden |
| Affiliation: | HaOved HaTzioni |
| Pushpin Map: | Israel shomron |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Coordinates: | 32.1133°N 35.4925°W |
Masua (he|מַשּׂוּאָה, lit. Torch, ar|مسواه), also transliterated as Massu'a, is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav shitufi in the West Bank.[1] Located in the Jordan Valley, with an area of 6,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In it had a population of .
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli and US governments dispute this.[2]
The village was established in 1969 as a Nahal settlement, and was converted to a civilian moshav by a HaOved HaTzioni gar'in five years later.
According to ARIJ, Israel has confiscated 2,209 dunams of land from the Palestinian village of Al-Jiftlik in order to construct Masua.[3]
See also: Alexandrion. Four kilometers west-southwest of Masua is the Sartava Nature Reserve, named in tribute to a mountain from which, in Mishnaic times, Jews would relay signals via torch to indicate that a new month had been proclaimed.
The summit of Sartava has remains of a fort built by King Alexander of Judea. The area of Sartava, which is split down its length due to the Great Rift Valley, is unique in that it embodies a transition between the Mediterranean habitats of Samaria on the one hand and the more desert-like habitats of the Arava on the other.[4]