To the south of Jerusalem lies the settlement of Har Homa (Homat Shmuel), which is built on the lands of Jabal Abu Ghneim, located between Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. Construction began in the settlement in 1997, which is located on about 1850 dunams of the Palestinians’ lands that had been confiscated. The intention of building this settlement was to prevent the natural population expansion of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour to the north direction.

The settlement surrounds the lands of the village of Sur Baher and Umm Tuba from the north and east, the lands of Beit Sahour and Bethlehem from the south, and the lands of Mar Elias Monastery from the western side.

The lands of Jabal Abu Ghneim have been under occupation since 1967, and later in 1997 the occupation forces confiscated 354 dunums of the lands of Umm Tuba village to the north, in addition to this and after 1997 the occupation confiscated hundreds of lands from the town of Beit Sahour in favor of expansion the tettlement the occupation also continues to confiscate more land and construction and expand the settlement to this day.

The settlement contains thousands of settlement units, up to ten thousand units, the latest of which was approved by the Jerusalem Municipality in 2021 regarding the construction of 6,200 new units. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged this in many statements and showed great interest in this settlement. The settlement contains many of the settlers' living facilities such as schools, hospitals, commercial centers, playgrounds, sports facilities and other possibilities that facilitate the settlers' lives in it, and which also constitute an element of attraction to attract more of them.

It is worth noting that the occupation is working on a plan called the Jerusalem belt, through which it works to besiege Jerusalem from all directions, such as Gilo and Har Homa in the south, which effectively separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem and other settlements that separate Jerusalem from Ramallah or the villages of East Jerusalem.