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Gilo (Template:Lang-he) is a neighborhood in Jerusalem and also considered an Israeli settlement, located in the south of greater Jerusalem built on land annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War, an annexation unrecognised by the international community which therefore considers Gilo to be a settlement. With a population of 40,000, Gilo is one of Jerusalem's largest suburbs.

Geography

Gilo lies on Slaiyeb mountain in the southwest quadrant of Jerusalem overlooking Beit Jala, separated from Beit Jalla by a deep gorge. The Tunnels Highway to Gush Etzion runs underneath it on the east, and the settlement of Har Gilo, which shares its name, is visible on the adjacent peak. Beit Safafa and Sharafat, Jerusalem are located north of Gilo, while Bethlehem is to the south.

Biblical Gilo

The biblical town of Gilo is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:51) and the Book of Samuel (II Sam 15:12). Some scholars believe that biblical Gilo was located in the central Hebron Hills, whereas the name of the modern settlement was chosen because of its proximity to Beit Jala, possibly a corruption of Gilo. A city in the southwest part of the hill-country of Judah (Josh. 15:51), Gilo was the birthplace of Ahithophel "the Gilonite" (Josh. 15:51; 2 Sam. 15:12), and the place where he committed suicide (17:23). Gilo has been identified with Kurbet Jala, about 7 miles north of Hebron.

Land dispute

Some land on which Gilo was built was owned by Jewish institutions prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, although more than 2,700 dunams of land were confiscated from Beit Jala, Beit Safafa and Sharafat. A CNN 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" drew criticism from Palestinians and media watch groups.

Shooting incidents

Between 2000-2002, during the first two years of the Second Intifada, there were over 400 shooting incidents targeting Gilo from Beit Jala. Although Beit Jalla is predominantly Christian, it was infiltrated by Fatah's Tanzim gunmen, who purportedly positioned themselves in or near Christian homes and churches in the knowledge that a slight deviation in Israeli return fire would harm 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 shooting included gunfire and mortar attacks. Many civilians were injured and homes facing Beit Jalla suffered extensive property damage, prompting many residents to leave. The Israeli government eventually built a cement barrier and bulletproofed the outer row of homes. The shooting on Gilo ceased entirely only after Operation Defensive Shield.

See also

• Positions on Jerusalem

References

1. • "The Gilo neighborhood, to the southwest, was feeling the strain the most..." MIDEAST TURMOIL: THE MOOD; In Jerusalem, Despair and Determination by Ian Fisher, New York Times, June 20, 2002
   • "... Gilo came under sustained attack because it is the only Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem that borders autonomous Palestinian territory. The War Within East Jerusalem, by Yossi Klein Halevi New York Times, December 22, 2000
   • "... Gilo, an Israeli neighborhood on Jerusalem's southern edge that has been under repeated fire for months." Israeli Army Leaves Palestinian Town In West Bank After 2 Days of Tension, by Clyde Haberman, New York Times, August 30, 2001
   • "Shots were also fired at the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, slightly wounding one resident and setting off protracted exchanges of fire with gunmen in the neighboring town of Beit Jala." Widening Hostilities, Israel Kills Chief of P.L.O. Faction, by Joel Greenberg, New York Times August 28, 2001
   • "... Gilo, a Jewish neighborhood on the fringe of Jerusalem." Israeli troops won't relinquish West Bank town Michele Chabin, USA Today
   • "...the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Gilo across the valley." Israelis leaving Beit Jala, say Palestinians, CNN August 30, 2001
   • "He recalled that when Israel erected similar concrete block walls in 2000 to shield the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo from shooting attacks by Palestinian gunmen in the Al-Aida refugee camp..." Israeli barrier draws artists to a cause by Matthew Kalman, The Boston Globe, April 27, 2006
   • "Orthodox Jews overlook the West Bank Palestinian town of Beit Jala from the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo, on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem..." Washington Post
   • "Last night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Gilo, a Jewish neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem." Israelis retaliate by cornering Arafat in West Bank city by Lee Hockstader, San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 2002
   • "He recalled that when Israel erected concrete-block walls in 2000 to shield the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo from shooting attacks by Palestinian gunmen in the Al-Aida refugee camp..." Barrier-wall art divides Palestinians, by Matthew Kalman, San Francisco Chronicle April 23, 2006
   • "In the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo, which lies to the southwest within an expanded, annexed, post-1967 Jerusalem..." To truly see Jerusalem, try varied perspectives, by Steven Erlanger, San Diego Union Tribune April 30, 2006
   • "Many of the school's 600 pupils come from the nearby southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo..." School Students Heard Explosion Outside Associated Press June 18, 2002
   • "An army statement said troops took up positions in Beit Jala after Palestinians there shot at the nearby Jewish neighborhood of Gilo, which lies in a disputed part of Jerusalem claimed by both sides." Israel Surrounds Arafat in Compound Associated Press, March 30, 2002
   • "Soon after the explosion, heavy gunfire broke out at a valley between the Palestinian village of Beit Jalla and the Israeli neighborhood of Gilo, which is on the outskirts of Jerusalem." Blast Hits Palestinian HQ, CBS News, July 20, 2001
2. Jerusalem Post
3. Settlements in East Jerusalem Foundation for Middle East Peace
4. Arafat's media do support Jerusalem bus bombing - Likud of Holland
5. Gilo & Har Choma
6. http://www.hatzola.org.il/gilo.asp Gilo & Har Choma
7. Giloh (WebBible Encyclopedia) - ChristianAnswers.Net
8. "One more Obstacle to Peace": A new Israeli Neighborhood on the lands of Jerusalem city Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem, 10 March 2007
9. " Is Beit Jala burning?" Inside Israel, 4 September 2001
10. Euphemisms for Israeli Settlements Confuse Coverage FAIR, August 2002
11. ^ The strategic significance of Har Homa | Op-Ed Contributors | Jerusalem Post
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. Winter 2001 Vol. XI, No. 1 - CPT
15. Excerpts from Briefing by Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert on the Situation in Jerusalem Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 24 October 2000

External links

• Ahalan, Miss Seamline: Israeli and Palestinian beauties preen for peace
• Video about Shira Negari, killed in bus attack at entrance to Gilo

31°44′N 35°11′E / 31.733°N 35.183°E / 31.733; 35.183

• Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem
• Al-Aqsa Intifada