Ariel (; ) is an
Israeli settlement and
city in the central
West Bank, part of the
Israeli-occupied territories, approximately east of the
Green Line and west of the Jordan border. Ariel was first established in 1978 and its population was in , composed of veteran and young Israelis, English-speaking immigrants, and immigrants from the
Former Soviet Union, with an additional influx of 10,000 students. It is the fourth largest
Jewish settlement in the West Bank, after
Modi'in Illit,
Beitar Illit, and
Ma'ale Adumim.