Gush Settlers Thwarted in Move to Expand the Ofra Settlement

Gush Emunim settlers from Ofra backed away from a confrontation with the army today after an early morning foray into adjacent lands near the West Bank Arab town of Ramallah. Their attempt to expand the settlement without prior approval by the government, ended, at least for the time being, when the army threatened to remove them by force.

Negotiations continued throughout the morning. Two representatives of the settlers went to Tel Aviv to meet with Defense Minister Ezer Weizman but Weizman refused to see them unless they evacuated the area first. The settlers left shortly after noon and moved to a nearby hill while army trucks picked up their belongings and equipment. But they ripped down the perimeter fence around Ofra and vowed to return to the adjoining land if the government did not meet their demands.

A similar incident occurred last month when Gush settlers from Kiryat Arba near Hebron were forcibly evacuated from land they had seized in defiance of government restrictions. The incident at Ofra, 15 miles north of Jerusalem, occurred a day after the Ministerial Defense Committee refused to authorize a plan by Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon to seize 43 acres of Arab owned land for the expansion of Elkana on the western slopes of the Judaean mountains.

The committee also refused to approve land seizures at six other West Bank settlement sites and declined to hold a hearing on the matter. It was referred to the full Cabinet for debate.

Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan reiterated yesterday that he was “very much opposed” to the confiscation of privately owned land on the West Bank for the purpose of enlarging Jewish settlements. He said on a television interview that he favored the establishment of settlements but only on State owned land.