al-Khader | |
---|---|
Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Arabic | الخضر |
• Latin | al-Khadr (official) |
![]() Eastern al-Khader and Solomon's Pools | |
Location of al-Khader within Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°41′34″N 35°09′59″E / 31.69278°N 35.16639°E | |
Palestine grid | 162/124 |
State | State of Palestine |
Governorate | Bethlehem |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Head of Municipality | Ahmad Salah |
Area | |
• Total | 19,882 dunams (19.9 km2 or 7.7 sq mi) |
Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 11,960 |
• Density | 600/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
Name meaning | "the [town] of Saint George"[2] |
Al-Khader (Arabic: الخضر) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the south-central West Bank. It is located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 11,960 in 2017.[1] The area around al-Khader is marked by vineyards, and olive and fig trees.[3]
Al-Khader was founded in the late 18th or early 19th century.[4] Its main landmarks are Solomon's Pools, the Murad Fortress (a Turkish Ottoman castle built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1617 to defend Solomon’s Pools, that today houses a Museum for Palestinian Culture and Heritage), the Monastery and Church of St. George, and Al-Hamadiyya Mosque.[5]