Al-Jiftlik
Al-Jiftlik | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| •Arabic | الجفتلك |
| •Latin | Al-Jeftlik (official) El-Jeftlak (unofficial) |
 UNRWA school in al-Jiftlik, 2011 | |
| Coordinates:32°08′39″N35°29′36″E/ 32.14417°N 35.49333°E | |
| Palestine grid | 196/172 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Jericho |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| • Head of Municipality | Muhammad OmarJahalin[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 185,032dunams(185.0 km2or 71.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
| • Total | 3,100 |
| • Density | 17/km2(43/sq mi) |
Al-Jiftlik(Arabic:الجفتلك) is aPalestinianvillage in theJericho Governorateof theState of Palestine,in theWest Bank,located 33 kilometers north ofJericho.Al Jiftlik is bordered by the Jordan River to the east. Nearby Palestinian localities includeaz-Zubaidatto the northeast,Furush Beit Dajanto the northwest,Beit Furikto the west,Aqraba,Majdal Bani FadilandDumato the southwest andal-Fasayilto the south.[3]According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS), al-Jiftlik had a population of 3,100 in the 2017 census.[2]
The village's total area amounts to 185,032dunams,of which 972 dunams are Palestinian built up areas, 77 are for commercial and industrial transport units, 64,032 are arable lands and 108,606 dunams are open spaces. Israeli settlements, includingMassua,HamraandArgamanand military bases account for 11,293 dunams.[3]The remaining land consists of forests and inland water.[3]
History
[edit]The majority of the land in al-Jiftlik belonged to the al-Masa'id tribe, a powerfulBedouinfamily whose land spanned fromDamiainTransjordan,on the east bank of theJordan River,to the borders of Jericho in the West Bank. Most of its residents are descendants of the al-Masa'id tribe and immigrants fromTammunto the north.[3]
The village's name is derived from theTurkishwordchiflik,the term for "land tenure" in the lateOttoman Empirewhich was applied in this as in many other Ottoman locations.[4]It received its name due to the agricultural nature of the village.[3]During themandate period,there was aTegart fortknown as the Jiftlik Police Post just west of the present village.[4]
In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War,and after the1949 Armistice Agreements,Al-Jiftlik came underJordanian rule.
Since theSix-Day Warin 1967, Al-Jiftlik has been underIsraeli occupation.In the aftermath of the war over 800 homes in al-Jiftlik were razed by theIsraeli armyand its 6,000 inhabitants were ordered to leave. Most of al-Jiftlik's inhabitants, however, returned to the village.[5]
After the1995 Accordsbetween the Israel and thePalestine Liberation Organization(PLO), the village was designated as part ofArea C.This makes it subject to fullIsraelimilitary and civil administration.[3]This has allowed the Israelis to commit whatRobert Fiskin 2010 called "ethnic cleansing via bureaucracy". According to the head of the village council in Jiftlik, Palestinian requests for building were denied or delayed for years, and anything built without permission was "ruthlessly" torn down by the Israelis.[6]
In 2005 avillage councilwas established to administer local affairs. Its nine members are appointed by the Palestinian National Authority. The council maintains a permanent headquarters and owns a waste collection vehicle. Among its responsibilities are building water and electricity networks in al-Jiftlik and providing an ambulance for the village.[3]
Land confiscations by Israel
[edit]According toARIJ,Israel has confiscated land from Al-Jiftlik in order to construct severalIsraeli settlements:
- 2,209dunamswere taken forMasua,[7]
- 1,464 dunams were taken forMa'ale Efrayim,[7]
- 1,294 dunams were taken forYafit,[7]
- 645 dunams were taken forArgaman,[7]
- 514 dunams were taken forGitit,[7]
- 438 dunams were taken forMekhora,[7]
- 176 dunams were taken forPetza'el.[7]
Demographics
[edit]In the 2007 census al-Jiftlik had a population of 3,546 with exactly 50% being males and the other 50% females. The total number of households was 578 who lived in 692 housing units. The principal clans in al-Jiftlik are the 'Arab al-Masa'id,'Arab al-Jahalin,'Arab al-Ayed, al-Ajajrah, Abu Sureis, Abu Dalakh, Abu Dheila, al-Annuz, al-Rutimat and al-Nafei'at. According to theApplied Research Institute-Jerusalem(ARIJ), about 100 families have left al-Jiftlik since the start of theSecond Intifadain 2000.[3]
Economy and education
[edit]Like several other villages in the Jordan Valley area, al-Jiftlik is subject to Israeli restrictions on construction and movement, and most often requests for building permits are denied. The village lacks electricity and water infrastructure.[8]It has primary school managed by theUNRWAwith 950 students.
Id'eis
[edit]Id'eis is a Palestinian community several kilometres south of Al-Jiftlik, close to the Masua Israeli settlement. In May 2014, there were 23 families in two neighboring compounds made up of 13 families consisting of 75 people in 15 residential structures living in the north-west compound and 10 families consisting of 53 people living in 14 tents in the southern compound. Each compound also has many livestock structures for their flocks of several thousand sheep and goats. The community makes its living from shepherding and settled in the present location in 1982 having left the Hebron area and migrated across the Jordan Valley as they searched for pastureland. On 21 May 2014, the southern compound was demolished by five Israeli Civil Administration bulldozers supported by IDF soldiers and Border Police on the basis that the families did not have building permits.[9]
References
[edit]- ^West BankArchived2007-06-30 at theWayback MachineLocal Elections ( Round two)- Successful candidates by local authority, gender and No. of votes obtained, al-Jftalak p 23
- ^abPreliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017(PDF).Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS) (Report).State of Palestine.February 2018. pp. 64–82.Retrieved2023-10-24.
- ^abcdefghAl Jiftlik Village Profile.Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem(ARIJ). 2012.
- ^abRoza El-Eini (2006).Mandated landscape: British imperial rule in Palestine, 1929-1948.Routledge. p. 486.ISBN978-0-7146-5426-3.
- ^Karmi, Ghada(1999).The Palestinian Exodus, 1948-1998.University of London,Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. Garnet & Ithaca Press. p.90.ISBN0-86372-244-X.
- ^In the West Bank's stony hills, Palestine is slowly dying In the richest of the Occupied lands, Israeli bureaucracy is driving Palestinians out of their homes.Robert Fisk,The Independent,30 January 2010
- ^abcdefgAl Jiftlik Village Profilep. 17, ARIJ
- ^Aid agencies tread gingerly in Area CArchived2013-04-17 at theWayback Machine.Ma'an News Agency.2013-1-13.
- ^"Civil Administration demolishes nearly half the homes in community of Id'eis, the Jordan Valley".B'tselem. 29 May 2014.
External links
[edit]- Photo of dates grown at Al-Jiftlik on the Palestine Crops websiteArchived2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine
- Al Jiftlik Village (Fact Sheet),(Fact Sheet)],Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem(ARIJ)
- Al Jiftlik Village Profile,ARIJ
- Al Jiftlik aerial photo,ARIJ
- Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Jiftlik,ARIJ
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 15:IAA,Wikimedia commons
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