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31°43′N 35°11′E / 31.717°N 35.183°E / 31.717; 35.183 Gilo (Template:Lang-he) is a neighbourhood in southernwestern Jerusalem with a population of 40,000. It was built as part of the Ring Neighborhood project on land annexed by the Jerusalem municipality from the West Bank after the 1967 Six-Day War,, and is thus described by many sources as being an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, although some of the land was purchased by Jews, both before the establishment of Israel and in the 1970s and 80s.

Biblical references

The biblical town of Gilo is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:51) and the Book of Samuel (II Sam 15:12) as a town in the Judean hills.

Geography

Gilo lies on Slaiyeb mountain in the southwest quadrant of Jerusalem overlooking Beit Jala. It is separated from the more urban downtown by a large, forested recreation area. To Gilo's south, a deep gorge lies between it and Beit Jala. The Tunnels Highway to Gush Etzion runs underneath it on the east, and the settlement of Har Gilo, which shares its name, is visible across the gorge on the adjacent peak. North of Gilo are the Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Beit Safafa and Malha.

History

Between 1948 and 1967, the site of the neighborhood was used as a Jordanian Army camp.

Most of Gilo's land was owned by Jewish institutions prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, though 2,700 dunams of land used to build Gilo were confiscated by the Israeli government from the nearby Arab towns of Beit Jala, Beit Safafa and Sharafat, according to the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem.

Controversial status

Because it is located on land conquered from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War it is often called an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. In 2001, CNN issued a memorandum to its staff stating that "We refer to Gilo as a 'Jewish neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem'... We don't refer to it as a settlement." This drew criticism from a number of Palestinians as well as some media watch groups.

Sniper fire on Gilo

In 2000-2002, there were 400 incidences of shooting across the valley from Beit Jala into Gilo by Palestinian militants, injuring Gilo residents and causing severe property damage. The residents of Beit Jala, mostly Palestinian Christians, reported that their homes were used against their will by militant groups, and believed that the strategy was designed to effect a demographic change in the area. They point to the Tanzim's choice of Christian Beit Jala to shoot from, and their specific positioning in or near Christian homes, hotels and churches such as St. Nicholas, as well as institutions like the Greek Orthodox club, in the knowledge that Israeli return fire would harm the Christian buildings.

Andreas Reinecke, head of the German Liaison office to the Palestinian Authority, protested:

I would like to draw your attention in this letter to a number of incidents which occurred at "Talitakoumi" school in Beit Jala...which is funded mainly by the Protestant Church in Berlin. Over the last few days the school staff noticed attempts on the part of several armed Palestinians to use the school premises and some of its gardens for their activities. If they succeed in doing this, an Israeli reaction will be inevitable. This will have a negative impact on the continuation of the functioning of the school, in which no less than 1,000 Palestinians study....You cannot imagine the kind of upheaval which will be provoked among the supporters of this school should they discover that the school premises are used as a battle ground.

The Israeli government built a concrete barrier to deflect gunfire and bulletproofed the outer row of homes, mostly on Ha'anafa Street, which directly overlooks Beit Jalla. The shooting on Gilo ceased completely after Operation Defensive Shield.

See also

• Positions on Jerusalem
• Har Gilo

External sources

• Israel sticks to settlement policy BBC, May 6, 2001
• Ahalan, Miss Seamline: Israeli and Palestinian beauties preen for peace
• NY Times correspondent Cliford May on life in Gilo
• Gilo Park designed by Shlomo Aronson
• Community services in Gilo

References

1. The strategic significance of Har Homa | Jerusalem Post
2. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/12/Pictures%20from%20Gilo-%20Community%20under%20Siege%20-%20Decemb Community under siege
3. Who Owns What http://mondediplo.com/1997/09/palaut
4. ^ "One more Obstacle to Peace": A new Israeli Neighborhood on the lands of Jerusalem city Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem, 10 March 2007
5. Gilo & Har Choma
6. Letter to the Chicago Tribune CAMERA
7. Settlements in East Jerusalem Foundation for Middle East Peace
8. Letter dated 12 November 1986 from the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General United Nations
9. FAIR
10. http://world.std.com/~camera/docs/alert/ch-trib.html
11. BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Spotlight: Why is Gilo so important?
12. Associated Press, as reported in Yoram Ettinger, "The Islamization of Bethlehem by Arafat," Jerusalem Cloakroom #117, Ariel Center for Policy Research, December 25, 2001.
13. Letter from Andreas Reinecke to Colonel Jibril Rajoub, Head of the PA Preventive Security Apparatus in the West Bank, May 5, 2002, from IDF Spokesperson, May 12, 2002.
14. Mayor briefing

• Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem
• Al-Aqsa Intifada