High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ariel (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ) is an Israeli settlement and a city in the central West Bank. Established in 1978, its population at the end of 2008 was 16,700, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fifth largest Jewish settlement and city in the West Bank. The Israeli Ministry of the Interior gave the municipality of Ariel the status of a city council in 1998.