Har Adar
Israeli settlement in the West Bank
title: "Har Adar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["israeli-settlements-in-the-west-bank", "populated-places-established-in-1982", "1982-establishments-in-the-israeli-military-governorate"] description: "Israeli settlement in the West Bank" topic_path: "geography/israel" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har_Adar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Israeli settlement in the West Bank ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Har Adar |
| native_name | {{Hlist |
| rtl | |
| {{Lang | ar |
| settlement_type | Local council (from 1995) |
| image_skyline | HarAdarDec092022 01.jpg |
| pushpin_map | West Bank |
| pushpin_mapsize | 250 |
| pushpin_label_position | top |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type1 | Region |
| subdivision_name1 | West Bank |
| subdivision_type2 | District |
| subdivision_name2 | Judea and Samaria Area |
| subdivision_type3 | Governorate |
| subdivision_name3 | Jerusalem Governorate |
| established_title | Founded |
| established_date | 1982 |
| leader_title | Head of Municipality |
| leader_name | Hen Filipowicz (since 2013) |
| unit_pref | dunam |
| area_total_dunam | |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | |
| population_as_of | |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| blank_name_sec1 | Name meaning |
| blank_info_sec1 | Mount Adar |
| :: |
| name = Har Adar | native_name = {{Hlist | {{Script/Hebrew|הַר אֲדָר}} | هار أدار | settlement_type = Local council (from 1995) | image_skyline = HarAdarDec092022 01.jpg | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map = West Bank | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_label_position = top | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = West Bank | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Judea and Samaria Area | subdivision_type3 = Governorate | subdivision_name3 = Jerusalem Governorate | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1982 | leader_title = Head of Municipality | leader_name = Hen Filipowicz (since 2013) | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_dunam = | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_as_of = | population_density_km2 = auto | blank_name_sec1 = Name meaning | blank_info_sec1 = Mount Adar Har Adar () is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council in the Seam Zone and the Maccabim sub-region of the West Bank. 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 West Bank.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/A_Lookout_at_Har_Adar.jpg" caption="Harel Brigade memorial in Har Adar"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Snow_in_Har_Adar.jpg" caption="Snow-stranded automobiles in Har Adar, December 2013 during the [[2013 Middle East cold snap"] ::
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 (, Giv'at HaRadar), for the World War II 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. In fact, it was a relay station, to boost the radio signal. The installation was handed over to the Jordanian Arab Legion on May 10, 1948, prior to the second phase of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. 23 attempts by the Palmach's Harel Brigade to conquer it failed, although the Jewish force held the position for four days starting May 22, 1948. Being under Jordan rule after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, the area was annexed by Jordan in 1950. It was finally captured in the Six-Day War 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 West Bank villages for the construction of Har Adar:
- 627 dunams from Biddu,
- 456 dunams from Beit Surik,
- 36 dunams from Qatanna.
On the morning of 26 September 2017, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at the checkpoint in the separation barrier at the rear of the settlement, killing one Border Police officer and two security guards, while wounding a fourth.
Demographics
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/HarAdarBorderFenceandQattana.jpg" caption="Westward view from Har Adar"] ::
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:
::data[format=table]
| Age | 0–4 | 5–9 | 10–14 | 15–19 | 20–29 | 30–44 | 45–59 | 60–64 | 65–74 | 75+ | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 10.3 | 9.8 | 8.0 | 12.4 | 20.3 | 17.6 | 6.7 | 4.4 | 0.9 | ||
| Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | |||||||||||
| :: |
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. In 2009, the municipal surplus stood at NIS 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
References
- Uri Blau [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/har-adar-is-over-the-green-line-but-its-residents-don-t-like-to-be-called-settlers.premium-1.509410 Har Adar Is Over the Green Line, but Its Residents Don't Like to Be Called Settlers] [[Haaretz]] 15 March 2013
- Shaul Ephraim Cohen. (June 1993). "The Politics of Planting: Israeli-Palestinian Competition for Control of Land in the Jerusalem Periphery". University of Chicago Press.
- Kershner, Isabel. (26 September 2017). "Palestinian Gunman Kills 3 Israelis at West Bank Crossing". The New York Times.
- (10 December 2009). "The Geneva Convention". BBC News.
- Dadon, M. Har Adar, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 14:87-88
- [http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Biddu_Tp_En.pdf Biddu Town Profile], ARIJ, p. 18
- [http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Beit%20Surik_Tp_En.pdf Beit Surik Town Profile], ARIJ, p. 17
- [http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Qatanna_Vp_En.pdf Qatanna Town Profile], ARIJ, p. 17
- Yotam Berger, Amos Harel, Jack Khoury and Nir Hasson. (September 26, 2017). "Three Israelis Killed in Terrorist Attack in West Bank Settlement". Haaretz.
- Vilnai, Ze'ev. (1976). "Giv'at HaRadar". Am Oved.
- "Local Authorities in Israel 2009, Publication #1451 - Municipality Profiles - Har Adar". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.
- (February 26, 2008). "Har Adar: The Most Economically Organized Council". [[Yedioth Ahronoth]].
- HaReuveni, Immanuel. (1999). "Lexicon of the Land of Israel". Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books.
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