Ofra () is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

located in the northern Israeli-occupied

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

(Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a Regional Councils in Israel, regional council Local government in Israel, governing 47 Israeli settlements and Israe ...

. In it had a population of . The

international community The international community is a term used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. Usage Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is typically used to imply the ...

considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. According to human rights organization B'Tselem, the state of Israel itself acknowledges that much of the Ofra civilian settlement is built on privately owned Palestinian land, which is unlawful according to Israeli law. In August 2016, the military governorate admitted to the Israeli High Court of Justice that a large portion of Ofra, totalling 45 dunams, was built on land privately owned by Palestinians prior to the occupation, including areas "located in the heart of the settlement". Following the ruling of the High Court that Israeli homes in this area were illegal, the state has undertaken steps with the goal of restituting the land back to its private Palestinian owners. Following the successful effort to demolish the settlement of Amona, Silwad mayor Abdul Rahman Saleh signaled that he would petition the High Court on behalf of Ofra landowners with the goal of evicting Israeli settlers there. Considering the Jordanian military base which existed there, he accepted the presence of Israeli soldiers.

Name

Ofra is named after the ancient town of Ophrah, which was mentioned twice in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Gershom Gorenberg, 'The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977, Henry Holt & Co., 2006 p.312-318 Ophrah is identified with modern-day Taybeh, a Christian village located a few kilometers to the east.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p
293
/ref>

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from three nearby

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

villages and towns in order to construct Ofra: * 1252 dunums of land were taken from Ein Yabrud, * 988 dunums of land were taken from Silwad, *22 dunums of land were taken from Taybeh. Ofra's establishment in April/May 1975 was part of a struggle between the

Gush Emunim Gush Emunim (, lit. "Bloc of the Faithful") was an Israeli ultranationalist religious Zionist Orthodox Jewish right-wing fundamentalist activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan ...

settlement movement, which was founded in February 1974, and the Israeli Labor government, which opposed Israeli settlement amid densely populated Palestinian areas. Originally established on the site of a former Jordanian military base, Israeli civilians moved into surrounding areas formerly inhabited by Palestinians and built permanent and temporary structures there, creating the settlement of Ofra. The establishing group from ''Gush Emunim'' first obtained jobs at a nearby military base on Mount Ba'al Hatzor. They established a work camp in the abandoned barracks of a Jordanian army base. They then brought in their families and raised an Israeli flag. Though opposed by then Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, Ofra was given political backing by

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

, then defense minister in Rabin's government, and by his settlement adviser Moshe Netzer.Akiva Eldar
''Vice PM: Ofra settlement homes built on private Palestinian land''
Haaretz, 8 April 2008 After the Labour Party was defeated by the Likud Party in the 1977 Israeli election, the new government recognized Ofra as a community, paving the way for expansion into the surrounding hills.Nir Shalev
The Ofra Settlement - An unauthorized Outpost
B’Tselem, December 2008
Summary
/ref> It was designed as an "island" for a selected homogenous population, where all members would share the same "ideological-social background." Many institutions of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank were first located or established in Ofra, including the Yesha Council and the Nekuda monthly magazine, founded and edited by Israel Harel. Several Ofra residents were killed by Palestinian militants during the Second Intifada.

Geography

Ofra is located east of the

Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...

, circa 25 kilometers from the Green line, and 20 kilometers north of the Green Line in Jerusalem. It is situated in the mountain-range area at 850–900 meters above sea level. The climate is mediterranean-mountainous. Cold and humid winters with several days of snow almost every year and a rain yearly average of about 750 millimeters (29.5 inches). The summers are dry and mild. Ofra lies in a

karstic Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some eviden ...

region, with several stalactite caves and dolines. The Center for Cave Research (HaMerkaz Lekheker Me'arot) is located in Ofra. The settlement is divided into three main neighborhoods: Neve David, Giv'at Tzvi and the core of the settlement, which is itself divided into four sections. In addition there are three caravan neighborhoods and another neighborhood ("HaShkhuna HaZmanit", lit. ''the temporary neighborhood'') of houses belonging to the Ofra Cooperative Society, rented mostly to newcomers including a community of Bnei Menashe from

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

and

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

. Ofra borders the Palestinian villages and towns of Ein Yabrud, Silwad, Deir Jarir, Rammun, Deir Dibwan and At-Taybeh. The last is believed to be the site of biblical Ofra. It is often known locally as Ein Yabrud Heights.

Outposts

In 1997, the outpost Amona was established on private lands belonging to inhabitants of the villages of Silwad, Deir Jarir and Taibeh. In 2006, Amona was evacuated, accompanied with violent clashes. Eventually, the state refused to demolish the outpost. the case remains in dispute following the purchase by Jewish residents of five land plots from the Palestinian owners. In February 2017, The outpost of Amona was evacuated by order from the government of Israel.

Economy

Ofra's climate is suitable for growing

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

nectarines The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi), or Chinese gooseberry, is the edible berry (botany), berry of several species of woody vines in the genus ''Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa, ...

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

, and

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

. Other branches of agriculture include honey and poultry farming. In the nearby industrial area there are some small light-

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

workshops of carpentry and welding. In the verdict of the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

, the Ofra waste disposal plant, built with state funds, lies on Palestinian land. Prior to its construction, Ofra's sewage flowed into local rivers for three decades, polluting the Mountain Aquifer. The Palestinian landowners, through Yesh Din, have sought redress in Israel's Supreme Court. To legalize the plant, Israel would have to expropriate the Palestinians' property on which the treatment plant is built. But this measure would require that it service the waste disposal needs of the Palestinian villages nearby, which would exceed its capacity. Various proposals have been raised to resolve the problem. The State is considering linking the villagers of Ein Yabrud to the plant, since they lack adequate waste treatment, but they decline the idea. According to Michael Sfard, a lawyer acting on their behalf, the state would have to reach an agreement to lease the land from the Palestinian villagers, negotiate a deal with the

Israeli–Palestinian Joint Water Committee The Israeli–Palestinian Joint Water Committee (JWC) is a joint Israeli–Palestinian authority, created in 1995 by the Oslo II Accord. Its purpose is to manage water and sewage related infrastructure in the West Bank, particularly to take decis ...

, and secure the requisite planning permits to legalise the situation. He regards such an outcome as improbable.

Education

Today there are kindergartens, elementary schools, a girls high school (Ulpana Ofra, established in 1986), a

midrasha A ' (Hebrew: ; : ), typically, is an institute of Torah study for women of post-high-school age, somewhat equivalent to a men's yeshiva; most are located in Israel. The midrasha is also somewhat parallel to a "women's seminary" (Hebrew "semin ...

(Midreshet Shuva) and a field school (a special school for biology environmental studies). The field school holds a permanent exhibition of the fauna of the area and of ancient agriculture. Ofra also has a bird watching center, located in a reservation near the Givat Tzvi neighborhood.

Legal status

Status under international law

Like all Israeli settlements in the

Israeli-occupied territories Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prio ...

, Ofra is considered illegal under international law. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. The position of successive Israeli governments is that all authorized settlements are entirely legal and consistent with international law. The Israeli government disputes this on the basis of their position that the Palestinian territories are not occupied territory and as such does not accept that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies ''de jure'', but has stated that on humanitarian issues it will govern itself ''de facto'' by its provisions, without specifying which these are.Gerson, Allan. ''Israel, the West Bank, and International law'', Routledge, Sept 28, 1978, , p. 82.Roberts, Adam, "Decline of Illusions: The Status of the Israeli-Occupied Territories over 21 Years" in ''International Affairs'' (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944–), Vol. 64, No. 3. (Summer, 1988), pp. 345–359., p. 350 This view has been rejected by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

and United Nations bodies.

Status under Israeli law

The Sasson Report in 2003 introduced criteria for determining the legality of a given settlement under Israeli law. In June 2007,

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

reported that 179 of the 600 buildings in Ofra are considered illegal by the Israeli administration. Ofra is built on private Palestinian land. In a December 2008 report, B'Tselem has argued that while all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, Ofra is illegal even under Israeli law stating that it violates three of the four established criteria for legality in the Sasson report. According to the report, while Ofra was authorized in 1979, it was never defined a jurisdictional area, never had an outline plan approved and no lawful building permits were issued. The report added that at least 58 percent of the settlement's built-up area is registered in the Land Registry Office under the names of Palestinians. Ofra residents claim the land was purchased legally from the Palestinians. They contended that the land was purchased legally but suggested that showing documents of the purchases would lead to Palestinian retribution attacks. Land deals are usually kept secret to protect Palestinian sellers. The Yesha Council accused B'Tselem of trying to remove Jews from their land saying the group "will spare no means - even lies" in order to harm the settlements. Homes were built on land bought with forged documents. Hundreds of structures in Ofra came under a demolition order from the Civil Administration after the villagers of Ein Yabrud laid a petition at the Israeli High Court of Justice over construction on their private land. A secret database, published by Haaretz in 2009, confirmed that Ofra was largely built on private Palestinian lands, without approval.Haaretz, Uri Blau
''Secret Israeli database reveals full extent of illegal settlement''
1 January 2009. The published document (in Hebrew): . Part of it was translated in English by Yesh Din
''“Spiegel Database” of West Bank settlements and outposts developed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense''
In September 2011, the Israeli government set up plans to legitimise the settlement retroactively. Ofra's settlement fence was built without permits over wide swathes of land belonging to the Palestinian villages of Deir Dibwan and Silwad. The IDF has confirmed that permits were lacking, and undertook to rebuild the fence closer to Ofra within 2012. Top quality soil from this agricultural land is systematically 'stolen' for settlement use. One house near the settlement, owned by the Palestinian Shehadeh family, who won a Jerusalem district court judgement in their favour, is still used as a yeshiva for Ofra's married men, and was expropriated by the IDF in favour of the settlers 10 days after the verdict was passed. In the wake of a suit filed in 2008, on 9 February 2015, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the demolition of 9 Ofra homes as standing on land with Palestinian title. The government was given two years to demolish the housing. Police began evacuating settlers and protesters on 28 February 2017 from nine Ofra houses ordered for demolition by an Israeli High Court order.

Notable residents

* Yehuda Etzion * Mike Netzer * Efim Rinenberg

References

External links

Ofra website

Midreshet Shuva

Ofra in Google Maps
{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Hebrew Bible cities Religious Israeli settlements Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Populated places established in 1975 1975 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Community settlements Israeli settlements in the West Bank