Ofra

Ofra
Hebrew	עֹפְרָה
Founded	1975
Founded by	Gush Emunim
Council	Mateh Binyamin
Region	West Bank
District	Judea and Samaria Area
Coordinates	31°57′19.84″N 35°15′36.84″E / 31.9555111°N 35.2602333°E / 31.9555111; 35.2602333Coordinates: 31°57′19.84″N 35°15′36.84″E / 31.9555111°N 35.2602333°E / 31.9555111; 35.2602333
Population	3,200[1] (2010)
Ofra
Website	http://muni.tik-tak.co.il/web/index.asp

Ofra (Hebrew: עֹפְרָה‎‎) is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank in the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. It is situated on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (route 60), 25 km from Jerusalem and has 3,200 inhabitants (2010).

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[2] Human rights organisation B'Tselem has stated that, on the basis of the conditions established in the Sasson Report, Ofra is also unlawful according to Israeli law. 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.^[3] B'Tselem says the settlement lacks building permits and a specified area of jurisdiction, and 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.^[4] In September 2011, the Israeli government set up plans to legitimise the settlement retroactively.^[5]

History

Ofra's establishmen in April 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 name was taken for its biblical aura from a town mentioned in the Book of Joshua.^[6] The establishing group from Gush Emunim first obtained jobs at a nearby military base on Mount Ba'al Hatzor, then in April 1975 got permission to sleep over in the abandoned barracks of a Jordanian army base.^[7][8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] It was designed as an "island" for a selected homogenous population, where all members would share the same "ideological-social background."^[11]

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.^{[citation needed]}

The location of the settlement Ofra is believed^{[citation needed]} to be close to the site of biblical Ophrah, also known as Ephron and Ephraim.

Geography

Ofra is situated east of the Israel-Westbank separation barrier, 15.1 kilometers from the Green line^[12] 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 is situated in a karstic region, with several stalactite caves and dolinas. The Center for Cave Research (HaMerkaz Lekheker Me'arot) is located in Ofra.

The town is divided into three main neighborhoods: Neve David, Giv'at Tzvi and the core of the town, 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 belong to the Ofra Cooperative Society, rented mostly to newcomers including a community of Bnei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram.^{[citation needed]}

Neighboring Ofra are the Palestinian villages and towns Deir Dibwan, Ein Yabrud, Silwad, Kafr Malik, Deir Jarir and At-Taybeh, the last is believed to be the site of biblical Ofra.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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, though Israeli disputes this. 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.^[13] Despite Israel's armistice agreements having all being with High Contracting Parties,^[14] Israel's stance has been backed by a number of legal scholars. In practice, Israel 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.^[15][16]. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice, the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations bodies.^[2][17]

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.^[18] 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 3 of the 4 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 large parts of the village also lay on registered privately owned Palestinian land.^[10] Ofra residents responded that the land was purchased legally but suggested that showing documents of the purchases would lead to Palestinian retribution attacks. 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.^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ofra

• Ofra website (Hebrew)
• Midreshet Shuva (Hebrew)
• Ofra in Google Maps