Mahaneh Yehuda dates back to the end of the 19th century, when it was established on an empty lot owned by the Sephardi Valero family. Arab merchants sold goods to residents outside the Old City, saving them the long walk to the Old City food markets. Eventually, Jewish merchants opened stalls there. In the 1920s and 30s, the market was turned into a permanent facility by the British mandatory government. New stalls and food stands opened during the 1940s br br Terrorist attacks : br br On July 30, 1997, 16 people were killed and 178 wounded in two consecutive suicide bombings. br On April 12, 2002, seven people killed by a woman suicide bomber who detonated a powerful bomb at a bus stop on Jaffa road near the entrance to Mahaneh Yehuda. Another 104 people were injured in the blast, among them nine Arabs. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.