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Har Homa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Har Homa (; Hebrew: הר חומה, Har Khoma, which means "Wall Mountain"; Arabic: جبل أبو غنيم, 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[1] 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.[2]
Har 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.[3]