Kiryat Netafim was founded in June 1986 by a group of
Orthodox Yemenite Jews. It was established on land belonging to the
Palestinian villages of
Qarawat Bani Hassan, and
Haris. The settlement is part of a chain of settlements built along the
Trans-Samaria Highway and adjacent to the
Barkan Industrial Park. It is named after a Bible verse: "New wine will drip from the mountains." (Amos 9:13). Since its founding, Kiryat Netafim has diversified, welcoming families from various different backgrounds. In 2009, the organisation
Peace Now petitioned the Israeli High Court, and laid a complaint against the then Defence Minister
Ehud Barak, to order the demolition of 14 illegal structures built without authorization on public and private Palestinian land. The Defence ministry replied given approval to construction plans that would legalize the 14 structures. An interim injunction from the High Court on October 1 prohibited construction until the legal issues were settled. A further request was made on December 29 to find the settlers guilty of contempt for breaching the injunction to stop building. The state admitted the fact but requested the breach be ignored because the state had limited resources to regulate settlements and different priorities. In November 2014, Netafim began bulldozing and clearing additional Qarawat Bani Hassan territory, under the protection of
IDF troops, in what appeared to be an effort to extend the settlement. The community is located near of several
archaeological sites. ==Education==