Har Gilo (; ) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, organized as a community settlement, located about 2 kilometers west of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem and 5 kilometers south of Jerusalem, in the northern Judean hills.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from two Palestinian villages/towns in order to construct Har Gilo:
- 92 dunams from al-Walaja,
- the remaining, totaling 271 dunams, from Beit Jala
Due to Har Gilo's strategic location, the Turkish, British and Jordanian armies all had bases there. An Israel Defense Forces base was established after the Six-Day War in June 1967. The civilian settlement of Har Gilo was established on Hanukkah 1968. It is named after the biblical Gilo (Joshua 15:51) in the mountains of the Tribe of Juda. It is considered part of Gush Etzion. In 2007, Har Gilo had a population of 462. According to Peace Now, Har Gilo breaks the territorial contiguity of a Palestinian state and its close proximity to Al Walaja and Beit Jala will make it difficult to include within Israel's final boundaries. The settlement lies within the Israeli West Bank barrier, constructed in the early 2000s, which passes just outside the settlement, separating it from the neighbouring villages.
Geography
thumbnail|Map of the Har Gilo region
Har Gilo is located between the Palestinian villages of al-Walaja and Beit Jala, south of the Jerusalem boundary and adjacent to the peak of Mount Gilo.
Archaeology
Archaeological excavations in 1998 revealed the remains of two buildings and a rock-cut winepress, both dating back to the Iron Age III (586–539 BCE). Additional pottery shards were indicative of activity at the site from the early Islamic period.