Tubas (city)

Tubas is also the plural form of Tuba, a musical instrument.

Template:Infobox Palestinian Authority muni Tubas (Arabic: طوباس, Tubâs) is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank located 21 kilometers northeast of Nablus, a few kilometers west of the Jordan River. It is currently under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority and is the muhfaza (seat) of the Tubas Governorate. The city had a population of approximately 16,100 in mid-year 2006.

It was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as was all of the West Bank. While in Jordanian control it was a part of the Nablus Governorate until 1967 after its capture by Israeli forces in the Six-Day War.

Geography

Tubas is located in the upper hills of Samaria in the northern West Bank with an elevation of Template:M to ft above sea level, whereas most of the Tubas Governorate is located within the Jordan Valley to the south. Its total land area consists of 295,123 dunams, of which 2,271 is classified as built-up, roughly 150,000 used for agricultural purposes and about 180,000 confiscated by Israel for military bases and buffer zone.

Tubas is Template:Km to mi northeast of Nablus, Template:Km to mi west of the Jordan River and Template:Km to mi east of the Mediterranean Sea. Nearby localities include the town of Aqqaba to the north, Tayasir and Aqabah villages to the northeast, Ras al-Far'a to the southwest, the Palestinian refugee camp of Far'a to the south and the al-Bikai'a village cluster to the southeast.

History

The city's name Tubas derives from the Canaanite word Tubas Svoys or "illuminating star". Tubas was confirmed by Edward Robinson to be the Biblical town of Thepaz. Here, Abimelech of Shechem was killed by a stone thrown by a woman during his siege of the town. Archaeological remains such as cemeteries and olive presses indicate that Tubas was inhabited during the Roman era of rule in Palestine.

The modern city was founded in the late 1800s, when groups of Arabs belonging to the Daraghmeh clan of shepherds and farmers — who lived in the Jordan Valley — migrated northward to the site because of its fertile ground, proximity to several springs and its high elevation; Mount Gerizim was visible from the area. The Daraghmeh clan had lived in the Jordan Valley since the 15th century. Soon after its establishment, Arabs from Najd, Syria, Jordan and nearby Nablus, as well as Hebron, came to settle in the area. During this period, Tubas became the site of clashes between the 'Abd al-Hadi and Tuqan clans of Nablus and suffered incursions by Bedouins from areas east of the city. The Jarrar clan did not inhabit, but yet controlled Tubas as it was located within the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Mashariq al-Jarrar.

Tubas was one of the largest villages in the District of Nablus. Most of the working inhabitants resided in tents, in order to work on their distant lands in the Jordan Valley and to graze their flocks of sheep and goats. Tubas, unlike the villages in the rest of the district depended on livestock and not olives for income. Livestock products included cheese, clarified butter, woolen rugs, tents, ropes and cloth bags.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Fawzi al-Qawuqji led 750 Arab Liberation Army soldiers to Tubas from Jordan and set up base there. It as under Jordanian occupation from 1948 to 1967, when Israel occupied the town and all of the West Bank during the Six-Day War. Tubas was transferred to Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1995. The city was a part of the Nablus Governorate, but after the PNA took power, it and several nearby towns and villages formed the new Tubas Governorate.

Tubas did not see as much violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as nearby Nablus and Jenin, but a number of incidents occurred during the Second Intifada, which began in 2000. In April 2002, the Israel Defense Forces killed five active Hamas members, in the town including Ashraf Tamza Daraghma — the chief Hamas commander in Tubas and the surrounding area.

Demographics

Tubas had a population of 3,349 in 1922 which rose to 4,097 in 1931, according to a British Mandate census. In Sami Hadawi's 1945 land and population survey, Tubas and nearby Bardala had a combined population of 5,530. About 1,100 residents fled Tubas after the 1967 Six-Day War, while 260 emigrated there and in 1981 its population 5,300.

In the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics' first official census in 1997, Tubas had a population of 11,760 inhabitants. The gender make-up was 50.8% male and 49.2% female. Tubas has an overwhelmingly young population with 52.7% of the city's residents below the age of 20. People between the ages of 20-34 constitute 24.7%, between the ages of 35 and 64 constitute 17.7% of the population while 4.9% are above the age of 64. The census also revealed that 6.1% of the city's residents were refugees.

In the PCBS' latest projection, Tubas had a population of 16,087 inhabitants in mid-year 2006, increasing by 32.6% from 1997 and 3.2% from 2005. The city represents roughly a third (33.4%) of the Tubas Governorate's total population. The city's original inhabitants — the Daraghma family — constitute 70% of Tubas, while the Sawafta make-up 25%, the Husheh make-up 3% and the Fuquha represent the remaining 2%.

Nearly all of the inhabitants of Tubas are adherents of Islam, but there is a community of nearly 60 Christians.

Economy

According to the PCBS, in 1999, approximately 52% of the citizens are within the working age (15-64). Of the city's labor force, 48% are females.

The economical situation of the city, during the 1993-99 period, was prosperous, however since the start of the Second Intifada in 2000-01, Tubas' income level has decreased by 40%. Prior to the Intifada, the average household income was 2,500 NIS, receding to about 1,500 NIS. A major factor that has resulted from the conflict was the confiscation of agricultural land located within the city's or its governorate's jurisdiction by Israeli settlements or military authorities. The unemployment rate increased dramatically from 20% in 1999 to 70% after the year 2000. Prior to the Intifada, 35% of the total labor force worked in Israel.

Currently, agriculture constitutes 60% of Tubas' economic activity, public services comprise 17%, trade is 10%, Israeli labor is 8%, construction and industry make-up the remaining 5%. In the city, there are 240 shops and stores, 70 service institutions and 30 small factories.

The main economic sector in Tubas is agriculture. There is a total of 150,000 dunams of arable land, of which 124,450 dunams are occupied by forests and 10,604 dunams are cultivated. Field crops account for 49% of the cultivable land, while fruit orchards account for 40% and vegetables make-up 11%. Israeli trenches around the neighboring villages of Ras al-Ahmar and Khirbet al-'Atuf prevent access to nearly 40% of Tubas' arable lands.

Government

Tubas serves as the muhfaza ("capital" or "seat") of the Tubas Governorate. Since 1995, Tubas has been located in Area A, giving the PNA full control over its security, administration and civilian affairs.

Tubas has been governed by a municipal council since 1953, when it was granted permission to do by Jordanian authorities who controlled the West Bank at the time. The council is made up of 15 members including the mayor and is headquartered in the municipal hall in the center of the town. The municipality has over 60 employees. Responsibilities of the municipality include civil administration, urban planning and development, social development services, distribution of social services, the issuing of building permits, infrastructural maintenance: water, electricity, solid waste collection.

In 2005, Auqab Daraghma was elected mayor of the town.

Education

In 2004-05, Tubas had twelve schools; four four males, three for females and five co-educational. There were 4,924 students and 191 teachers. In addition, six kindergartens are located in the city, and have a total of 620 pupils. In 1997, the illiteracy rate was 14%; females comprised 78.3% of the illiterate population. Of the literate population, 25.7% completed elementary eduction, 23.3% completed preparatory education and 22.1% completed secondary or higher education. The al-Quds Open University based in Jerusalem, has a campus in Tubas known as Al-Quds University-Tubas Educational Region. In 2006, 1,789 students were enrolled in the university, it had 90 professors and 24 other employees.

Local infrastructure

The city also contains five health centers run by various organizations including the Palestinian Red Crescent. There are no hospitals in Tubas, nor in the Tubas Governorate; Residents must travel to Nablus for hospital treatment, but there are two ambulances in Tubas for emergency transportation. There are four clinics in the city: Two are run by non-governmental organizations, one by the Palestinian National Authority and one is privately-owned. The clinics lack modern equipment and specialists, however. In addition, ten pharmacies exist in Tubas.

Tubas contains six mosques. The main mosques are the Abd ar-Rahan Mosque, the al-Tawled Mosque, Umar ibn al-Khattab Mosque, and Shaheed Mosque. The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church is also located in Tubas, in the northern part of the city. The church was built in 1976 to serve the small Greek Orthodox community. It consists of a prayer room, a fellowship hall, an office, and a library for children. The Sawafta family has an old palace in Tubas as well.

Since Tubas is the seat and largest city in the Tubas Governorate, it is the main provider of service to the towns and villages of the governorate. All Palestinian National Authority offices that serve the governorate are located in the city. There are 21 institutions in Tubas, including a post office, the Palestinian Ministry of Labor office, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture office, the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs office, the fire department and a police office.

Buses and taxis are the primary means of transportation in Tubas. The total length of paved roads is Template:M to ft, whereas there are Template:M to ft of deteriorating paved roads and Template:M to ft of road that are entirely unpaved. Tubas is connected to the main Ramallah-Nablus road by a network of northeastern offshoots of the road, through the villages of Azmut, al-Badhan and Ras al-Far'a. It is connected to Jenin from a northern road which passes through 'Aqqaba, Zababdeh and finally to Jenin.

Approximately 60% of the residents have telephone connection, and roughly 90% are connected to the water. The Tubas Municipality administers all water resources in and around the city. In addition, to the water network there is one spring in the immediate area which is the main provider of water for use in households. The city also has a water reservoir with a capacity of 900 meters cubed. This is primarily used to provide water to the urban areas of city during Summer, and is only available once on a weekly basis.

From 1963 to 1997 local municipal-owned electric generators provided Tubas with all of its electricity needs. In 1997, the city connected with the Tubas Area Electricity Network which is provided by the Israeli Electric Cooperation. In that period, 99% of households in the city were connected with electricity. Solid waste management in Tubas is operated by the municipality and Joint Services Council. It is collected 3-4 times daily from the residential area, which is sent to a shared dumping site Template:Km to mi from the city. The main disposal method used is burning. Tubas is not connected to the sewage network, therefore all households dispose of their waste water in cesspits, a major source of pollution in groundwater.

External links

• Tubas (pdf file)