The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3]
After the decision to establish a settlement had been made, land was seized from Aqraba first by declaring a closed military area.[6] When the Palestinian owners refused to vacate the area, their tools were sabotaged.[6] Finally, a crop-duster was used to spray the area with poison, in a joint operation approved by the government of Golda Meir in April 1972, involving the IDF and the Jewish Agency.[6][7] The village was then established in 1972 as a Nahal settlement.[6] It is named for a musical instrument mentioned in the Bible with a similar shape as the area:[8] f.e. Psalm 8:1.
^Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p.19, ISBN965-220-423-4 (Hebrew)