Al-Khadr (West Bank)

Al-Khader (Arabic: الخضر) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate in the south-central West Bank. It is located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 11,960 in 2017. The area around al-Khader is marked by vineyards, and olive and fig trees. Al-Khader was founded in the late 18th or early 19th century. Its main landmarks are Solomon's Pools, the Murad Fortress (a Turkish Ottoman castle built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1617 to defend Solomon’s Pools, that today houses a Museum for Palestinian Culture and Heritage), the Monastery and Church of St. George, and Al-Hamadiyya Mosque.