Ofra (settlement)
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Ofra עֹפְרָה عوفرا |
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 Ofra 2007 |
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| Territory : |
West Bank ( Judea and Samaria ) |
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| Regional administration : | Mateh Benjamin | ||
| Founded : | 1975 | ||
| Coordinates : | 31 ° 57 ' N , 35 ° 16' E | ||
| Residents : | 3,607 | ||
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Ofra ( Hebrew עֹפְרָה, Arabic عوفرا) is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank . The settlement was founded in 1975 and named after the biblical place Ofra (Joshua 18:23), which was located here in the ancient tribal area of Benjamin . Accordingly, Ofra is now part of the Mateh Benjamin regional administration . In 2017 Ofra had 3,607 inhabitants.
The international community, like all Israeli settlements in the territories occupied since 1967, regards Ofra as illegal under international law. Israel denies this.
location
Ofra is east of the Israeli barrier , around 15 kilometers north of Jerusalem and 8 kilometers north of Ramallah . The settlement is located directly on Highway 60 , which connects the northern West Bank with Jerusalem. The Palestinian villages of Silwad and Ein Yabrud are in the immediate vicinity of Ofra .
To the east of Ofra was the illegal outpost Amona until it was demolished in 2017 .
history
On March 3, 2002, near the town of Ofra, ten Israelis were killed and at least six were injured, some seriously, when a Palestinian terrorist shot indiscriminately with a rifle at a roadside checkpoint at Israeli passers-by, soldiers and rescue workers.
On April 6, 2017, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier was killed and another soldier injured at a bus stop at the entrance to Ofra when a Palestinian assassin drove his car into the group of people.
On December 9, 2018, a Palestinian shot from a passing car at Israeli civilians standing at a bus stop outside the settlement. Seven people were injured; Among them a pregnant woman whose unborn child died as a result of the injuries.
Land question
Ofra was built on land, which, according to the Palestinian NGO Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) , was confiscated from the surrounding villages of Ein Yabrud, Silwad and Taybeh . According to B'Tselem , large parts of the settlement are on privately owned Palestinian land, which would also make it illegal under Israeli law. The then Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Chaim Ramon , even spoke in 2008 that all the houses in the settlement on land were privately owned by Palestinians.
The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the demolition of nine houses in the settlement in February 2015 because they are on private land. The relevant buildings were evacuated at the end of February 2017 amid protests by settlers and later demolished.
Individual evidence
- ↑ New assassination attempt - Palestinians kill 10 Israelis at checkpoint near Ofra. In: Israelnetz .de. March 3, 2002, accessed July 26, 2019 .
- ^ Agence France-Presse: Israeli soldier killed in West Bank car-ramming attack . In: The Guardian . April 6, 2017, ISSN 0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed July 28, 2019]).
- ↑ Terrorist attack by car near Ofra | Israel | Palestine . June 4, 2017 ( ard-telaviv.de [accessed July 28, 2019]).
- ↑ Shooting attack in Ofra: at least 7 wounded, including a pregnant woman. September 12, 2018, accessed July 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Three-day-old baby of mother shot in Ofra attack buried - Israel News - Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .
- ^ A Yabrud village profile. P. 19 , accessed on April 14, 2019 (English).
- ^ Silwad Town Profile. P. 21 , accessed on April 14, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Et Taiyiba Town profiles. P. 21 , accessed on April 14, 2019 (English).
- ^ The Ofra Settlement - An Unauthorized Outpost. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Vice PM: Ofra Settlement Homes Built on Private Palestinian Land . In: Haaretz . April 8, 2008 ( Haaretz.com [accessed April 13, 2019]).
- ↑ Israel. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ The Eviction of Ofra . March 1, 2017 ( ard-telaviv.de [accessed April 13, 2019]).