Ariel was founded in 1978 on land that was seized for military needs and on land that was declared state land, including cultivated farmland of Palestinian villages in the district and on rocky land the villagers used for grazing their flocks. The leader of this group,
Ron Nachman, chose the latter because of its strategic location on a possible Jordanian invasion route towards Israel's main population centre of Tel Aviv. In the spring of 1978, some of the group's men erected tents on the chosen hilltop, and in August 1978, a total of forty families came to live in the settlement. The original members of the group had gone through a screening process in order to put together a mix of skilled adults as well as young families that would be prepared psychologically to withstand starting a new settlement from scratch with little infrastructure and modern comforts. There were no paved roads or paths. Water was supplied periodically by a tanker truck. Electricity was provided by a generator since no electrical network existed in that area. Tents were replaced by
prefabricated concrete blocks which served as living quarters, schools, and an infirmary. On September 1, 1978, the school year was officially opened. From 1978 to 1988, Ariel continued to develop, and established itself as the urban center for the nearby Israeli settlements. In 1980, the prefabricated homes were replaced with permanent housing. The College of Judea and Samaria, which would later become the Ariel University Center of Samaria, and eventually
Ariel University, was founded in 1982. Three elementary schools, a community center, a sports hall, and a synagogue were built. In May 1982, Ariel was connected to the national power grid. During the
mass immigration of Jews from the
Soviet Union that began in 1989 and continued throughout the 1990s, Ariel, which had a population of 8,000 in 1990, experienced a population boom. Unlike in Israel proper, apartments in Ariel were plentiful and cheap, which proved attractive to the immigrants. Some 6,000 Soviet immigrants moved to Ariel, almost doubling its population. In 2005, the residents of
Netzarim, a former Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip which had been
evacuated, found temporary housing in the dormitories of the Ariel University Center of Samaria. At the beginning of the academic year, about one-third chose to settle permanently in Ariel, while the rest moved to
Yevul. In 2007, the city began receiving immigrants from English-speaking countries such as the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Canada, and
South Africa in significant numbers. Both religious and secular Jews reside in Ariel. The city has sixteen synagogues. Nachman, a central figure in the
Likud party, presided over Ariel from 1978 until his death in January 2013, at first as head of the local council and as mayor from 1985, when the settlement was officially recognized as a city. Nachman was succeeded as mayor in 2013 by Eliyahu Shaviro, who served as mayor until 2024, when Yoni Chetboun was elected as mayor. On 15 November 2022, three Israelis were murdered during an
attack near Ariel. On 4 August 2025,
US House Speaker Mike Johnson and
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited Ariel where they were hosted by Mayor Yair Chetboun. They expressed support for this city, and to date were the highest ranking foreign government officials to visit Israeli communities in the West Bank. ==Geography==