Ofra

Ofra is named after the ancient town of Ophrah, which was mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible (Joshua 18:23; 1 Samuel 13:17). Ophrah is identified with modern-day Taybeh, a Christian village located a few kilometers to the east. ==History==

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from three nearby Palestinian 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 settlement movement, which was founded in February 1974, and the Israeli Labor government, which opposed Israeli settlement amid densely populated Palestinian areas. 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, Ofra was given political backing by Shimon Peres, then defense minister in Rabin's government, and by his settlement adviser Moshe Netzer. 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. 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==

youth club in Ofra Ofra is located east of the Israeli West Bank barrier, circa 25 kilometers from the Green line, and 20 kilometers north of the Green Line in Jerusalem. 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, nectarines, kiwifruit, grapes, and olives. Other branches of agriculture include honey and poultry farming. In the nearby industrial area there are some small light-manufacturing workshops of carpentry and welding. In the verdict of the Supreme Court of Israel, 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, 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 (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, Ofra is considered illegal under international law. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention'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. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice, the International Committee of the Red Cross 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 reported that 179 of the 600 buildings in Ofra are considered illegal by the Israeli administration. Ofra is built on private Palestinian land. 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. A secret database, published by Haaretz in 2009, confirmed that Ofra was largely built on private Palestinian lands, without approval. 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==

• Zhabo Erlich • Yehuda Etzion • Mike Netzer • Efim Rinenberg ==References==