Ofra
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) 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. According to human rights organization B'Tselem, the state of Israel itself has argued that much of Ofra is built on privately owned Palestinian land, making it also unlawful according to Israeli law.
History
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 name was taken for its biblical aura from a town mentioned in the Book of Joshua: Joshua 18:23.
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.
