Har Adar ( he, הַר אֲדָר) is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council in the

Seam Zone Seam Zone ( he, מרחב התפר) is a term used to refer to a land area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank located east of the Green Line and west of Israel's separation barrier, populated largely by Israelis in settlements such as Alfei Menas ...

and the Maccabim sub-region of the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Founded in 1986, it had a population of in . It is located near Abu Ghosh and the Green Line on Road 425, approximately 15 kilometers west of Jerusalem. Har Adar is ranked high on the Israeli socio-economic scale, at 9/10. Har Adar was initially built adjacent to the Green Line but is now largely located within the

. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

An antiquities site at Har Adar has been turned into a small archaeological park, based on finds from a salvage excavation conducted in 1991 on behalf of the Staff Officer for Archaeology, Judea and Samaria, directed by M. Dadon. A building complex was uncovered, with two strata, dating from the fifth to the mid-first centuries BCE, revealing a fort from the Persian period and a farmhouse from the Hellenistic period. In the Ottoman period a wing was added to the house. The location of Har Adar was named Radar Hill ( he, גִּבְעַת הָרָדָאר, ''Giv'at HaRadar''), for the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

British military installation on top of the hill. The Local Jewish military thought that the installation was an anti-air radar for the protection of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In fact, it was a relay station, to boost the radio signal. The installation was handed over to the Jordanian

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

on May 10, 1948, prior to the second phase of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. 23 attempts by the Palmach's

Harel Brigade Harel Brigade (, ''Hativat Harel'') is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Southern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Palestine war, also known as "Israel's War of Independence." It is one of the former ...

to conquer it failed, although the Jewish force held the position for four days starting May 22, 1948. Being under

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

rule after the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,annexed by Jordan in 1950. It was finally captured in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

by the Harel Brigade. A monument for the fallen soldiers of the brigade with Bible citation from 2 Samuel 1:19 stands at the top of the town. According to the ARIJ, Israeli authorities expropriated land from three

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

villages for the construction of Har Adar: *627 dunams from

Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...

,Biddu Town Profile
ARIJ, p. 18 *456 dunams from

Beit Surik Beit Surik ( ar, بيت سوريك) is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located 12 kilometers Northwest of Jerusalem in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population ...

, *36 dunams from

Qatanna Qatanna ( ar, قطنّه) is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank part of the Jerusalem Governorate, located 12 km. northwest of Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of approx ...

. On the morning of 26 September 2017, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at the checkpoint in the

separation barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogn ...

at the rear of the settlement, killing one Border Police officer and two security guards, while wounding a fourth.

Demographics

In 2009, the population of Har Adar was 99.3% Jewish with 1,700 men and 1,600 women. The age distribution was as follows:

Economy

Har Adar is ranked 9/10 (high) on the Israeli socio-economic scale. According to Business Data Israel (BDI), in 2006 Har Adar had the most stable economy of all Israeli local councils, along with

Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu ( he, כְּפַר שְׁמַרְיָהוּ, ar, كفار شمرياهو) is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. History Kfar Shmaryahu was founded in May 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah. The founding members ...

. In 2009, the municipal surplus stood at

NIS Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to: Places * Niš, a city in Serbia * Nis, Iran, a village * Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands Businesses and organizations * Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...

187,000. In 2009, there were 1,471 salaried workers in Har Adar. The average salary for males was NIS 15,987, and 8,882 for women – both higher than the national average. 25.5% salaried workers worked for minimum wage. In addition, there were 143 self-employed workers, with an average income of NIS 12,311.

References

External links

Har Adar local council web site
{{Authority control Israeli settlements in the West Bank Populated places established in 1982 1982 establishments in the Palestinian territories