Jerusalem Metropolitan Park is a 43-kilometer park being developed around the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The plan for the park includes bicycle paths, hiking trails, picnic areas and cafes. The

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

is upgrading natural and historical sites to make them accessible to the general public. The park will extend over 1,500 hectares of land, incorporating the Arazim valley near

Mevasseret Zion Mevaseret Zion () is a town and local council located to the west of Jerusalem, straddling both sides of the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim, under ...

Motza Motza, also Mozah or Motsa, (, ) is a neighbourhood on the western edge of Jerusalem. It is located in the Judaean Mountains, 600 metres above sea level, connected to Jerusalem by the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway, Highway 16, and the winding mo ...

valley to the west, Refaim valley in the south. In 2011, a 5-kilometer bike trail was inaugurated in Emek Ha'arazim, part of a larger trail that will ring the city. It begins near the remains of a Crusader fortress and ends near Motza, off the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. In 1906, Zionist pioneers purchased land in the Arazim valley, which makes up part of the park. Dov Klinger, a chemist, planned to build an olive oil soap factory there but his efforts were unsuccessful. In 1920, the site was resettled by eight families, who fled to Motza during the

1929 Palestine riots The 1929 Palestine riots, Buraq Uprising (, ) or the Events of 1929 (, , ''lit.'' Events of 5689 Anno Mundi), was a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 in which a longstanding dispute between Palestinian Arabs and Jews ove ...

. All were murdered except for two children who managed to escape. One was nine-year old

Mordechai Maklef Mordechai (Motke) Maklef (or Makleff) (; 19 January 1920 – 22 February 1978) was the third Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and later, director-general of many important public companies in the Israeli economy. Early life ...

, who became the third Chief of Staff of the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

A memorial to the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers is located on a hill in the park. Sculptor Eliezer Weishoff designed a bronze US flag in the shape of a memorial flame with a piece of aluminum from the wreckage incorporated in the base. The names of the 2,779 victims are inscribed on the walls around the plaza.Arazim Valley and the 9/11 Memorial
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References

{{coord, 31.7732, N, 35.1623, E, source:wikidata, display=title Jewish National Fund forests and parks Parks in Jerusalem Regional parks