Har Homa

31°43′31″N 35°13′18″E / 31.72528°N 35.22167°E / 31.72528; 35.22167

View of Har Homa from Beit Sahour
Har Homa

Har Homa (Hebrew: הר חומה, lit Wall Mountain), officially Homat Shmuel, is an Israeli settlement in southern East Jerusalem, near the Palestinian city of Beit Sahour.[1][2] The settlement is also referred to as "Jabal Abu Ghneim" (also "Jabal Abu Ghunaym"),[3] which is the Arabic name of the hill. One purpose given for the decision approving of its establishment was to obstruct the growth of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem.[4][5]

The settlement was officially renamed Homat Shmuel in 1998 after Shmuel Meir, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, who played an active role in its development before he was killed in a car accident in 1996.[6]

In 2013, Har Homa had a population of 25,000.[7]

Built on 1,850 dunams (1.85 km2) of land Israel expropriated in 1991, the international community considers Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Storm grows over Jerusalem settlement". BBC News. 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  2. ^ "Israel plans 1,300 East Jerusalem Jewish settler homes". BBC News. 9 November 2010.
  3. ^ Settlement monitor: Har Homa
  4. ^ Judah Ari Gross, 'US officials: Washington could back UN resolution on Palestine,' The Times of Israel 19 March 2015: 'the official referenced Netanyahu’s approval of construction in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa to block contiguity between Palestinian-majority areas during his first stint as prime minister in the 1990s as proof that Netanyahu truly meant what he said. “It was a way of stopping Bethlehem from moving toward Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said at the time.“ To actually come out and say that this construction is actually driven by efforts to undermine a future Palestinian state is fairly dramatic,” said the official.'
  5. ^ Jody Rudoren, ‘Netanyahu Says No Palestinian State if He Is Re-Elected,’ New York Times 16 March 2015.:’ Mr. Netanyahu said he had authorized that construction during his first term to block Palestinians from expanding Bethlehem, and to prevent a “Hamastan” for militants from sprouting in the hills nearby.’
  6. ^ Fendel, Hillel (2007-12-25). "Jerusalem's Har Homa Waiting for Expansion". Israel National News. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  7. ^ Homat Shmuel
  8. ^ Israel Plans East Jerusalem Housing (New York Times, Nov. 8, 2010)
  9. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Obama raps Israeli plans for 1,300 Jewish settler homes". BBC News. 9 November 2010.