Encyclopedia:
Har Homa,
Talk:Har Homa
Har Homa (coor ; lang-he|הר ,
Har Khoma, which means "Wall Mountain"; lang-ar|جبل أبو ,
transliterated Jabal Abu Ghneim) is a neighbourhood in southeastern
Jerusalem, opposite the
Bethlehem suburb of
Beit Sahour.
In
1991, then Israeli Cabinet Minister
Yitzhak Moda'i approved the expropriation of the land on a forested hill to the southeast of Jerusalem, within the extended municipal boundaries, for a new building project. Groundbreaking for the building of apartments did not begin until
1997, under the government of then Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.
Most of the land was expropriated from Israeli owners
http://www.fmep.org/reports/vol07/no3/04-har_homa_at_a_glance.html but some of the land belonged to Palestinian villagers, mainly in Beit Sahour and other nearby villages. No homeowners, Jewish or Arab, were displaced by the project.
http://camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=3&x_article=37Har Homa is widely considered an
Israeli settlement of
East Jerusalem because it is located on land conquered by
Israel in the 1967
Six-Day War. Development was the subject of much international criticism, as well as many organized protests by both local Palestinians and International activists. Residents of Beit Sahour campaigned vigorously against the land expropriation and the construction, setting up what they referred to as an "international peace camp" at Jabal Abu Ghnaim and engaging in
civil disobedience in an attempt to impede the destruction of the forest.
As of 2006, there were approximately 2000 familes, 8 kindergartens, 2 day care centers, 2 public grammar schools, 3 medical clinics, and 3 shopping centers. There are two bus lines, including the 14 and 14 Alef which connect Har Homa to downtown, and plans to add two additional lines.
http://www.har-choma.co.il/2004_eng/pages/default.htmSee also
*
East Jerusalem*
Israeli settlementExternal links
*
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1997/19970306.sc6332.html Security Council press release condemning Har Homa*
http://www.centerpeace.org/factsheets/fact-sheet-harhoma.htm Center for Middle East Peace factsheet*
http://www.har-choma.co.il/2004_eng/pages/default.htm Har Homa Website (English)Category:Neighbourhoods of Jerusalemde:Har Chomahe:הר חומה